Return of Chimera
by ChrisPro999
Summary: An ancient demon long thought gone returns and is hungry... My first Naruto fanfic. NO FLAMES.Chapter 5 is up now!
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Naruto or the characters thereof…_

**_Author's ramblings:_**_ Ok, this is my first attempt at a Naruto fanfic. This story was originally entitled Double Date Trouble, but I had an epiphany and decided to redo it entirely. This chapter is the same, save for the ending. Naturally, later chapters will follow the storyline of my epiphany. Anyways, please review and _**_no flames_**_ please. If you don't like it, don't read it, but at least read the first couple of chapters…_

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 1**

Naruto Uzumaki straightens his collar on his casual dress white shirt and smiles at his reflection in the mirror. Then, he picks up a small velvet box sitting on the dresser and after checking the contents, he turns to leave his dorm room. He glances out the window and smiles slightly at the waning sunlight of the evening. Now that he was a Chuunin, rarely did he get a chance to enjoy something simple and beautiful as a sunset, nevertheless, he always took advantage of times like this. Especially today. Today was a very special day for him, not because of some ninja thing, much to the surprise of many of his friends like Sakura Haruno or Shikamaru Nara. Naruto turns and exits his dorm room then heads down the hallway towards the street with a smile on his face. As he steps out of the building, the bright orange glow of the sun briefly blinds him, but after a couple of blinks, his vision is clear again. He glances in both directions of the street and sees that all the shopkeepers are beginning to wind down their day and start to close up.

Naruto turns left and starts down the street, still smiling and feeling really relaxed. He chuckles to himself as he speculates that a certain kunoichi Chuunin most likely isn't as relaxed as he. His active imagination kicks in, running a rather hilarious scenario through his mind. He imagines a flustered and hurried Hinata Hyuuga rushing about, trying on different clothes, hair styles, and shoes. Then, when he arrives, she'd either hide in her bedroom until she gets herself looking like she wants or faint. After waking her up, she'd most likely go and hide in her bedroom. Naruto chuckles outwardly, then sighs. He felt a little guilty for thinking that, but Hinata was still shy, but not as shy as she used to be before the two of them finally got together exactly one year ago. She was always wanting to look her best for him and he found it flattering and funny all at the same time. Still, he enjoyed and loved her all the same. Naruto never would have thought that the two of them would have ever gotten together. If you would have told him three years ago that he and shy Hinata Hyuuga would be together, he would have given you a strange look of disbelief, shock, and vague confusion.

One year together. It didn't feel like it. Just goes to prove that time does really pass by quicker the older you get. Reflecting back, Naruto remembers how shocked everyone was when the two made the announcement that they were a couple. Well, almost everyone. To this day, Naruto still feels a bit hurt by Sakura's rather loud sigh of relief and exclamation of "Finally!" Granted, there were those jibes at him for being so thick-headed and not seeing before then how Hinata liked him. Then, there were the jokes made stating that Hinata had to pound it into him that she liked him. Or rather, 'poke' it into him, since she was taught the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist style taijutsu. Shikamaru was the first one to use that joke, but Naruto had retaliated with the joke about how Temari of the Sand Village whacked him over the head with her fan and drug him off like a hunting trophy to get his affection. Shikamaru quickly stopped joking after that and turned a bright red color, then hid behind his gruff demeanor and promptly said something to the effect that being at Naruto's and Hinata's announcement was a drag….

Naruto glances up and sees a figure up ahead of him. He begins to study it and sees that it is Shikamaru standing in a dress suit, his typical gruff look on his face and hands shoved into his pants pockets. His smile widens as he nears Shikamaru, then sees him glance up in his direction. An audible gruff grunt is the first thing Naruto hears as he steps up to Shikamaru. Naruto glances over his fellow Chuunin and notices that he has a bouquet of flowers shoved under his arm.

"Please tell me those aren't for me," Naruto jokes pointing at the flowers. Shikamaru shoots him a disgusted and shocked glare.

"Do what?!" Shikamaru exclaims and nearly drops the flowers.

Naruto laughs and slaps Shikamaru's shoulder jokingly and replies, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Seriously though, who are they for?"

Before Shikamaru can answer, a sweet, innocent female voice exits the door to the building the two are standing in front of.

"Oh, Shikaboo Baby!!!"

Naruto's face twists into shock and sees Temari of the Sand Village step to the door and lean against it, wearing a blue evening gown that is cut low and is split up to her hip. Naruto turns to an extremely embarrassed Shikamaru, who is hiding his bright red face with his hand. A groan emits from behind the hand and Temari smiles deviously at Shikamaru.

"Temari…..please…. not in front of everyone…." groans Shikamaru. Temari giggles and glances over to Naruto, who has went from being shocked to trying to contain his laughter.

"Oh, Naruto! Hi!" she states innocently.

"Hi, Temari. Nice to see you again," he replies, still trying to keep from busting up laughing.

"Likewise," Temari says, then glances over him. "Ooh, you dress up nice!"

Naruto blushes slightly and glances down at himself. "Uh, thanks," he replies and sees that Shikamaru has dropped his hand.

Temari turns back to Shikamaru and says, "Shikaboo Baby, I'm almost ready. My nails are not quite dry yet." She raises her hands and wiggles her fingers slightly. Shikamaru blushes brightly again at his pet name and grunts. Naruto fights the urge to break down laughing once again.

"Also, Ino is looking for a necklace for me to wear that matches my dress. She forgot where she put it, so she's having to tear the entire building apart to find it. It could be a few more minutes, so just be patient, Shikaboo Baby!" Temari continues and gently pokes Shikamaru's nose with an index finger. She gives him a smile that is innocent but has hints of deviousness in it, then disappears back into the building. Naruto watches her go and then turns to a still red faced Shikamaru.

"Shikaboo Baby….?" he asks, giving Shikamaru a sly look.

Shikamaru glares at him and replies, "Don't you dare breathe a word to anybody about that… that name!! Or so help me, I will kill you!"

A laugh escapes through Naruto's clinched teeth and Shikamaru gives him a hard stare. "I mean it, Naruto!!! Not a word!! Even if Lady Tsunade herself threatens to strip you of your Chuunin rank and send you back to the Academy!!" he finishes.

"Oh, leave him alone, Shikamaru," comes Temari's voice again. The two Chuunin turn to see her standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and a half-smile on her lips. "It's not like it's a big secret or anything!" she finishes.

"But… but…" starts a protesting Shikamaru. Temari raises an eyebrow and Shikamaru lets out an annoyed grunt.

"The only reason I call you that is because it's cute!" Temari states, stepping towards him.

Shikamaru lets out a disbelieving snort. "Yeah, right. You only call me that because you know I hate it!" he retorts.

Temari pauses and a sly grin spreads across her lips. "Well, that's true. But it still is cute!" she replies and runs a hand gently down his cheek. "By the way, Naruto, your shy girlfriend is running around in a frenzy, trying to get ready. She was doing good…. Until she saw you walking down the sidewalk. Then she went nuts," Temari states, turning to look at Naruto.

Naruto sighs and nods. "I knew I should have waited a minute longer…."

"Well, Hinata would have been done by the time you got here, HOWEVER…" Temari says and presses her lips together.

Naruto picks up on what she is implying and says, "Let me guess, Ino decided to take it upon herself to 'help' Hinata get ready." Temari smiles and nods. Naruto sighs and shakes his head slightly. "It never fails. Every time Ino decides to 'help' Hinata get ready, it ends up taking longer than if Hinata got ready by herself," he states.

"Well, it's 'safe' to go in there now. Maybe Ino will leave her alone if you show up," Temari suggests. Naruto ponders the idea then shakes his head.

"No, I don't think so. Hinata would freak out if I went in there before she was completely ready," Naruto replies and rubs the back of his neck. "Which, in turn, would make her later than Ino has already made her…"

Suddenly, Naruto feels as if someone is standing next to him and sees Temari and Shikamaru get a strange look on their faces. "Let me guess, Ino's behind me." The two nod and Naruto sheepishly turns to see a red-faced Ino Yamanaka gritting her teeth in anger at him.

"WELL, EXCUSE ME FOR TRYING TO HELP! AFTER ALL, I THOUGHT YOU'D APPRECIATE YOUR GIRLFRIEND LOOKING THE BEST SHE CAN FOR TONIGHT!!!" explodes the long, blonde-hair kunoichi. Naruto steps back quickly from her and begins to fear for his life. Then, Ino calms down marginally and crosses her arms. "Besides, Hinata already kicked me out! Humph! See if I ever help her look her best ever again!!" And with that, Ino storms off down the sidewalk, mumbling to herself angrily.

"Well, that could have gone a whole lot worse…." Shikamaru states after a brief but awkward pause.

"No kidding. I'm just glad it didn't…" Naruto agrees, then glances up to see an ebony haired girl peek out the second story window. "Hinata?" he whispers.

"I-I'll be down in a minute," comes the reply. Naruto smiles warmly up at her and nods.

"Look, Naruto, we gotta jet. I have to, uh, ESCORT Temari to the, uh, boat…docks…" Shikamaru stammers as Temari giggles playfully at him. Naruto turns and gives them a dubious look.

"Wait, you don't have to take a boat to get to the Wind Country and I thought Temari didn't have to leave until the day after tomorrow…." he starts. Shikamaru blushes and Temari gets a sly grin on her face. Naruto suddenly decides he doesn't want to know what Shikamaru means and shakes his head. "Never mind! Forget it! Look, you just go and I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Shikamaru presses his lips tightly together and the two walk away with a reluctant Shikamaru handing Temari the bouquet of flowers from under his arm. Naruto shakes his head and wonders how those two could have lasted so long.

"N-Naruto…." comes a sweet and shy voice from behind him. He turns to see Hinata standing in the doorway smiling with her cheeks blushing. She wears a pearl colored evening gown with a royal blue silk scarf draped gently over her shoulders. Her thin lips are curved into a small smile and are adorned by a glittery lipstick. Naruto almost drops the velvet box he's carrying due to the stunning beauty that stands before him. "…I'm ready to go," Hinata finishes.

"Wow….." Naruto exclaims softly, totally shocked at how gorgeous Hinata looks. "You….look…. awesome…." Hinata blushes some more and blinks in flattery as her hazel gray eyes stay focused on him.

"Thank you, Naruto. You look… really handsome tonight as well. Is that the shirt I bought you?" she asks.

Naruto blinks and manages to look at himself. "Uh, yeah, it is. Fits great too. But I still don't know how you knew my shirt size, though," he replies.

Hinata giggles softly and hides her smiling lips with a finger. "That's a secret!" she states. Naruto gives her a slightly suspicious frown then quickly dismisses the subject. After all, he had a special night planned ahead for the two of them.

He holds out an arm for her to take and she drops her hand, then takes his arm. The two then begin walking down the sidewalk, smiling.

Meanwhile, an ANBU operative watches five figures from a distance on the outskirts of Konoha's borders.

"Master, we are being watched from afar," informs the tallest figure, clad in blue robes. "Shall I dispatch him for you?"

The smallest and centermost figure in the group raises a hand. "No. Let the mortal be for now. Let him believe that he is at a safe distance from us and has not been spotted. But when the time comes, we will use him to further our conquest."

"But he could alert the village of our presence, Master," replies the blue robed figure.

"It does not matter now if he does or not. There is nothing they can do to stop me from returning to my full glory!" replies the center figure.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: **__In case you missed it on the first chapter…I don't own Naruto of any of the characters…Chimera belongs to the ancient Greeks, Romans, etc._

_**Author's Ramblin's: **__Ugh. You people don't know this, but there was a HUGH gap in time since I finished the first chapter and this one. I blame myself for that. Hopefully, the next chapter will be done much, much sooner. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 2**

Naruto gently scoots Hinata's chair up to the table and hears her give him a soft 'thank you', then takes his seat across from her. He glances around the room nervously, seeing all the other patrons at the restaurant. He didn't expect so many people here tonight and seeing them all comfortable and relaxed in this…. fancy environment, something that he wasn't used to. Hinata had made him promise not to take her out for ramen at Ichiraku's. Instead, she wanted to go somewhere more….formal. This was as fancy as it gets, he reasons.

"Try to relax, Naruto," comes Hinata's soft, but sweet voice from across the table.

He glances at her and smiles weakly. "Trying to!" he replies.

"You know, you are going to have to get used to places like this, if you are going to be part of my family for any length of time!" she says with a small, devious smile on her face.

_Oh, great. What have I gotten myself into? _Naruto thinks to himself as he feels his face drain of color.

Hinata's smile partially disappears upon seeing his reaction to her words. "I'm just being honest with you," she states.

"Could you try being a little less honest from here on out?" he asks through a strained smile.

Hinata blinks in mild confusion, not knowing how to react, then she frowns at him. "Naruto…"

"Would Sir or Madam like to order an appetizer?" comes a voice that brings the couple back to reality.

"Yes, we would like the canapé, please," states Hinata politely, glancing up at the waiter that is standing next to their table.

"Excellent choice, Madam. Would you like an apertif to compliment that?" the waiter asks in reply.

"No, thank you. I think I will stick with just water," Hinata replies and smiles slightly at the waiter. Naruto covertly lifts his menu to hide his wide-eye expression.

"Very well, Madam. Sir, what about you?"

Naruto glances up at the waiter and puts on his best fake smile possible. "Oh, uh, no thanks. I'm fine!"

The waiter nods slightly in acknowledgement and turns to leave. Naruto waits until his is out of earshot and leans towards Hinata and states, "At the risk of sounding and feeling more stupid than I already do, I waited until the waiter was gone to ask you something."

Hinata tilts her head slightly in curiosity and replies, "What is it, Naruto?"

He glances quickly from side to side to make sure no one was watching, then asks quietly, "What the heck is canapé? I've never heard that word before!"

Hinata blushes and holds in a giggle. "I'll tell you, only if you promise me that you will try it first," she replies.

Naruto's face drops and he says, "Hinata, you have no idea how much that scares me." Then, a movement across the room catches his attention. His eyebrows flick up and down quickly in amazement at who just walked into the restaurant. "Oh, my gosh…"

Hinata gives him a curious look. "What?"

"Covertly look at who just came in!" Naruto whispers back.

Hinata blinks and turns her head to give a fake-cough, then sees who Naruto was talking about. She turns back to see her boyfriend casually glance up at her from over his menu. "Is that…?" she starts.

"Yep!" Naruto answers. "Sakura and Bushy-Brows!!"

"What are they doing here?" Hinata asks him softly.

"More importantly, why are they here…together?" asks Naruto, equally soft. Hinata shrugs slightly in unknowingness. Naruto glances up to see where the odd couple is going and sees that Sakura has spotted the two of them. "Uh, oh. Sakura saw us…." Naruto whispers.

Hinata's face drops slightly. She had hoped that the two of the would have a nice, peaceful evening, without the interruption from any of the other ninja. Especially tonight of all nights. Looks like that dream is coming to an end.

"She's coming this way… Quick, act like you don't know they're here!" Naruto whispers to her.

"What will that do?" she replies.

Naruto pauses for a second before responding. "Probably nothing, since that was the first thing that popped into my mind…." The corners of Hinata's lip droops slightly in disappointment as she watches Naruto pull his menu ridiculously close to his face.

"Naruto!! Nice to… see you here!!" comes a feminine voice from beside Naruto and he winces to himself.

He puts on his best fake surprised grin and lifts his head to look up at the mid-neck length-haired pinkette in a dark pink gown. He notices that she has a very uncomfortable and slightly agitated look in her eye.

"Sakura…. Hi! What brings you here to this fine establishment….of all places…" Naruto says with a noticeable amount of irritation in his voice in his last three words.

Sakura seemingly doesn't hear the irritation in his voice and replies, "Oh, I'm just….ah, out and about…."

Then, a voice almost booms from behind her, causing her to jump slightly. "Sakura, the host is seating us now! We must take our seat quickly or they will give it to someone else!"

Sakura blushes intensely and turns to face Rock Lee, owner of the booming voice. "Well, why don't you go and save it for us, Lee? I have to… uh, ask Naruto about…um, a mission he was on recently! I'll be there in a minute."

Naruto raises an eyebrow at Sakura's obvious lie, not that he expected it to fail, but that ol' Bushy-Brows was dense enough to buy into it.

"Huh? Oh, Naruto! It is good to see you! I did not realize that you were eating here as well!" replies Rock Lee looking past Sakura, then he turns his attention to Sakura. "Alright then, I will get our table. Do not be very long. The waiters will want to know what you wish to drink," Lee continues.

Sakura gives him a strained smile and nods. As he leaves, Sakura turns to the couple at the table and stares at them with begging eyes. "Help…..me…." she whispers in a very pathetic manner.

Naruto gives her a slight look of shock and shakes his head. "No, Sakura, this is our night!" he states indicating himself and Hinata. "Besides, how did Bushy-Brows manage to get you to say 'yes' to let him take you on a date?"

Sakura's pleading face turns to anger. Only one word exits her lips, "Ino…."

Naruto and Hinata both raise their eyebrows and glance at each other.

"Why am I not surprised?" Naruto whispers, then raises his voice to speak to Sakura. "Look, Sakura, you're just gonna have to handle this on your own this time. Sorry!"

Sakura's face drops more than before and she nods in understanding, then lets out a heavy sigh.

"Besides, if he tries anything, all you hafta do is pull out your Ol' Granny Tsunade strength training and lay a nice one across his face!" jokes Naruto. Sakura shoots him a sharp glance then begins to consider her teammate's suggestion seriously.

"Hmm…maybe, but I don't know. Lee's just a real nice guy. I don't think he'll try anything. But maybe Ino…." replies Sakura after a second more of pondering. A sadistic gleam appears in her eyes and sends shivers up Naruto's spine.

Finally, Sakura smiles at the couple and says, "Well, sorry that I disturbed you two. I'll just go and have a nice dinner at Lee's expense while I plot my revenge on Ino!" And with that, she turns and waves bye to them before heading across the room.

Naruto exhales in relief and sees that a look of relief is crossing Hinata's face. Then, a strange sensation hits Naruto in his stomach, but not hard enough for him to react to it. He shrugs it off silently, as not to cause Hinata to worry about him.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto and Hinata stare across the table at each other. Their meal was practically over, but to him, the night was just beginning. He covertly slides his hand into his pocket and feels the velvet box against his hand.

Hinata finishes taking a sip of her drink and blushes upon seeing his bright blue eyes staring at her lovingly. Never in her life had she ever thought a night like this would ever happen with him. But here she was. One year. One year with him, Naruto Uzumaki, the… .what was it that Kakashi-sensei called him? Oh, yes. The hyper-active, knuckle-headed ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Not anymore, according to her. He was hers and she was his. That's all that matters in her mind.

She notices a strange sly smile on her boyfriend's face and begins wondering what was going through his mind at that moment.

Then, the strange sensation in Naruto's stomach hits again, this time harder. Naruto groans softly and rubs his stomach. Hinata sees this and perks up. "Naruto?"

"What the…?" Naruto says, barely audible. Then, the sensation subsides moderately and he looks up at Hinata. "I'm fine. Something probably just isn't settling right, if you know what I mean," he states as reassuringly and convincingly as he can. "I'm not gonna let something this minor stand in the way of the best night you'll ever have!"

Hinata blushes and smiles back at him. "I-I can't wait.." she replies happily. Naruto returns her smile with a bigger one of his own, but still fighting against this weird sensation in his stomach.

Was it that goofy canapé stuff? Ugh. That was some weird tasting stuff! Like eating a fist full of salt… No, couldn't be that stuff yet. That'll hit me in the morning… Naruto thinks to himself. The waiter comes over and brings Naruto back to the real world. "Was everything satisfactory, Sir and Madam?" he asks politely. 

"Oh…yes! Everything was great," replies Naruto as Hinata nods in agreement with him.

"Ah, splendid! You either of you care for anything else? A dessert, perhaps?"

Naruto and Hinata glance at each other and decide not to get anything else. "No thank you. We are fine," replies Hinata.

"Besides, we have another… reservation to get to," adds Naruto.

"Very good, Sir. Here is your tally for the night. You may pay on your way out. Have a good night," states the waiter and lays the bill face-down on the table next to Naruto, then leaves.

Naruto slides the slip of paper to the edge of the table and lifts it slightly to see the total. His right eye twitches involuntarily at the price, but coolly turns his head to Hinata and puts on a smile. "Ready to go?" he asks. Hinata smiles and nods.

The couple stands and suddenly Naruto feels dizzy. He catches himself on the edge of the table, then the weird sensation in his stomach turns into a sharp pain. He lets out a yelp and clutches his abdomen, while slumping to the ground. Hinata gasps and rushes to his side. "Naruto!!" she yells, as panic begins to grip her heart.

Across the restaurant, Sakura and Rock Lee hear Hinata's outburst and instantly spring from their table. After almost sending two waiters and their platters of food to the floor, the two reach Hinata. A crowd formed from the various other patrons and staff of the restaurant encircle where Naruto has fallen. Hinata leans over him, not knowing what to do as Naruto clutches his stomach.

"Move aside! I'm a medical nin!" Sakura states firmly and presses through the crowd towards Naruto. "Lee, go and get a medical team!" she commands.

Rock Lee snaps out of his stunned state of mind and replies, "Yes, Sakura! Right away!" And with that, Lee disappears.

"Move back! I need room to work!" Sakura shouts at the crowd that has begun once again to crowd in to see what is going on. "Hinata, what happened?" she asks, turning her attention to Hinata.

"I-I don't know! There at the end of the meal, Naruto didn't look so good, but I thought it was just something he ate. But, Sakura….." Hinata starts, but pauses.

Sakura grits her teeth and wipes Naruto's brow free of sweat that has begun to form. "What, Hinata? What is it?" she asks.

"I used my Byakugan and I saw…… red chakra…. Lots of red chakra…." Hinata responds.

Sakura stares at her in shock. The Kyuubi. It had to be that…. that thing inside Naruto rearing its head.

Suddenly, Naruto raises up and grabs Sakura and Hinata each by a shoulder. The two stunned girls stare into the now red irises with vertical slit pupil-ed eyes, but Sakura notices a different look in them than the last time she looked into these….demonized eyes. She saw fear.

"Beware….!" comes a voice from Naruto's lips that isn't quite his and not quite human. It was more like an animal growl or voice, but formed words very distinctly.

"Beware! Chi—Chimera!" the voice says, not trying to cover up any fear in it, then as suddenly as it came over Naruto, the demon-ization ends. Naruto's eyes return to their normal blue color and his pupils return to their natural shape. Then, he lets out a soft groan and passes out.

Elsewhere the forest outside Konoha, four figures surround a fifth that is seated on the ground in a meditative position. A frown of discontentment forms on the lips of the seated figure before it stands.

"Master?" inquires the blue-robed figure. "Is there something wrong? Your meditation was cut short."

His master's eyes move to gaze at him, but does not answer him.

"Leave the Master alone! Your constant worrying about him will not help in any way!" pipes up the red-robed figure with a notable amount of irritation in his voice.

"All I'm doing is showing my concern for the Master's well-being! There is nothing wrong with that!" rebuffs the blue-robed figure. "And that concern will remain until Master Chimera is at his fullest strength!"

"Yeah, whatever! All you are trying to do is get on the Master's good side so you can get the biggest reward when he…" starts the red-clad figure.

A look of irritation at the bickering appears on the center figure's face. "ENOUGH!!" he shouts. The two underlings instantly stop arguing and snap to attention.

"Your bickering is fatiguing to listen to. Stop it now or I will kill you both!"

"Yes, Master," is heard in an apologetic and humble voice from each of the blue and red robed figures.

"See that you do well to heed my warning. It is my first and last. Now," Chimera says and turns to the yellow and green robed figures. "I sense that our distant observer is now not alone anymore. Wind, Earth, there are now four mortals observing us. Bring me three, for I hunger!"

A look of glee shines from the eyes of the yellow and green robed figures. "As you wish, my Master," replies the green robed figure.

"But bring them alive this time! The dead does not satisfy me anymore. I need living energy," states Chimera before the two take off. They nod in acknowledgement, then disappear. Then, Chimera turns to the remaining two and says, "Fire, Water, prepare for my feeding." The two simply nod in acknowledgement before turning to the direction of the four ANBU members, who are now nervous due to the sudden disappearance of two of the figures.

"Stay sharp! They could be anywhere!" whispers one ANBU.

"They couldn't have spotted us. We're to far away from them," whispers back another.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something….different about them that makes me very uncomfortable, especially that centermost figure," replies his teammate.

"I know what you mean. It almost feels as if they're intentionally keeping us at this distance," states another ANBU.

"I don't like this. Those other two have been gone for too long. Where could that have gone?" asks the last ANBU, glancing around, trying to find the smallest hint of where the two figures went.

"We're right here!" comes a voice that sounds as if it were all around them.

"What the—?!" exclaims the ANBU as the air around him suddenly whips up and knocks him backwards as if it were a balled up fist. As he hits the ground, the soil underneath him suddenly rears up and encases him.

Wind, the yellow-robed figure, wisps into form in front of the remaining three ANBU with a devious grin on his face. A shuriken flies at him, but instead of blocking or dodging it, Wind makes his body intangible and the shuriken simply flies through him. Wind raises a hand and a sudden blast of air knocks the ANBU on their backs. Suddenly, they explode in a poof smoke. Wind frowns as he realizes that those were clones. A barrage of kunai fly towards him from behind, but a wall of earth suddenly appears, blocking the kunai.

Earth, the green-robed figure, steps out of the bushes and drops the unconscious ANBU on the ground. "Let me get the real ones for you!" he says with a sadistic grin.

Wind snorts in indifference. "Whatever," is the response after a brief pause. "Just remember not to kill them. Master will not be pleased if you do."

Earth grunts and raises a hand up in the direction of the three ANBU. Suddenly, a mount of earth blasts upward, sending the three into the air. The ANBU quickly recover and land in nearby trees.

"No more hiding!" states Earth to them. "You're mine!!" And with that he shoves his left palm towards the ground and instantly a large mound of dirt pops up into the air. Then, with his right hand vertically knife-edged, he makes a quick jabbing motion toward the floating mound and it instantly splits into half. Earth balls up his left hand and punches towards the right half, but not touching it, sending it flying towards the far right ANBU. Immediately, Earth does the same with his right hand and sends the left half towards the leftmost ANBI. Then, in a short, scooping-jab motion with his left hand, he sends a blinding barrage of dirt and rock hurling towards the center ANBU.

The ANBU instantly dodge the attacks, but soon realize that this strange being is full of surprises. Another volley of earth at them barely allows them to stay still. Then, one of the ANBU gets a break and makes a few quick hand signs.

"Water Jet Jutsu!!" he yells and a stream of high pressure water intercepts the latest attack towards him. He lands on a rock and searches for his attacker. Suddenly, he feels his feet sink into the rock and tries to leap off it, but fails. Then, a rock smashes against his head, rendering him unconscious.

Another ANBU tries to analyze this strange means of attack. "These attacks aren't normal jutsu. It's as if he's controlling the earth itself." A rustling behind him catches his attention. He leaps up, only to be met by a large mound of dirt. He crashes to the ground underneath the dirt and tries to shove it off him, but it instantly hardens around him, effectively pinning him inside. Then, Earth appears above him with a grin on his face before a noise behind him catches his attention.

"Fire Ball Jutsu!"

Earth turns to see a massive fireball heading straight for him. He flinches for a second, but then a sudden burst of air disintegrates the fireball midair. Earth turns to see Wind lowering his right hand.

"Honestly, you really have to watch your back," states Wind blandly.

Earth snorts dubiously. "You're one to talk. Remember who protected you from those kunai that were thrown at your back!" he retorts.

"I was still intangible. I wouldn't have been harmed," replies Wind with the same blandness, then turns to look at the last ANBU, who has lighted in a nearby tree. "Humph. We've met our quota for Master Chimera. Let's go."

Earth frowns and replies, "Let me dispose of him. That way we won't have to be bothered by any more of these… lowlifes."

Wind sighs and says, "No. We have to get these three back to the Master. We have no time to goof off, but let me incapacitate him so he won't cause us trouble."

The ANBU shifts slightly, readying himself to leap away, but suddenly begins to find it hard to breathe. He then notices that neither of these attackers has left their spots, but only that the yellow robed one has lifted his right hand up towards him.

"No use trying to move. I have removed the air from all around you and I can keep the air away from you, no matter where you go. Besides, it'll be very hard to go far even if you do hold your breath. You'll eventually pass out," Wind states, then pauses as a sudden realization hits him. "Wait, you can't hear me. No air to carry the sound to your ears. Oh, well. Perhaps you can read lips."

And with that, the ANBU falls to the ground, passed out due to the lack of oxygen.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…_

_Authors ramblin's: Ooookayyy…Long time no update.. I guess I've been pullin' a Shikamaru…lazy…Sorry. Anyways, no action here, but a lot of talking back and forth. You know, one of those kinds of 'episodes' where everyone stands around talking about what's going on. Well, hope you enjoy anyways._

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 3**

Naruto groans and shifts under the white hospital sheets. Hinata nearly leaps to his side at this slight movement of her boyfriend, but stops herself when she remembers she isn't the only one in the room with him. Sakura and a nurse are also in here with them, along with an antsy Rock Lee who is waiting at the door. Sakura sets a cool cloth on Naruto's forehead and then pulls out the thermometer out of his mouth. She sighs as she sees that his fever has fallen slightly, then glances at Hinata.

_Poor Hinata. I'm sure this isn't the way she thought their one-year anniversary dinner and date would end up. Plus I feel doubly bad for trying to cut into their evening together just to try to get out of my dinner with Lee. Makes my losing a bet to Ino seem really small compared to this,_ she thinks to herself.

Then a commotion out in the hallway catches her attention. Sakura turns to see what is going on in time to see a nurse pop her head in.

"Sakura! Come quickly! You are needed! A severely injured ANBU is in need of your skills!" states the nurse quickly.

Sakura gets a knot in her stomach from a conflict between staying with her friend and teammate and going to do her duty as a medical nin. "I'll be right there," she replies after a brief pause, then turns back to look at Naruto. She frowns, knowing that she did all that she can for him and what he needs is rest, but she wishes that she could stay, but can't.

"Go on, Sakura. I will let you know if there is any change," comes a voice from behind her. Sakura glances over her shoulder as Lee gently lays a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Strange. Rock Lee was one of the most physically strong people she knew, mainly from all the hard, physical training he himself and Guy-sensei put him through. She's seen him move at speeds that boggled the mind and his taijutsu was superb. If a blow landed on an enemy, it wasn't just a mere tap, it was definite and noticeable. Rock Lee's hands can and has dealt very devastating blows, but then there are those times, like now, that those same hands touched a person, namely her, with such gentleness, it was hard to fathom that they even could touch like that.

Sakura gives him a thankful smile and stands. "Thank you, Lee. I appreciate that," she says softly to him. A warm smile forms on his lips and she suddenly gets feeling of relief. A feeling that things will be ok. Sakura then quickly exits the room to follow the nurse.

Hinata glances at Rock Lee out of the corner of her eye and slips her hand over Naruto's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, if only to let him know she was there next to him. "Lee, please, may I be alone with him for a moment?" she asks quietly.

Lee raises his eyebrows slightly, then nods. "Yes, certainly. I will be right outside if you need anything, Hinata," he replies, then steps outside, sliding the door closed behind him.

Hinata closes her eyes and a tear rolls down her cheek, then falls onto the white sheet of the hospital bed. "Naruto…." she whispers and sniffs softly. "Please…. get well…. I….I….." Hinata is unable to finish her sentence because a sudden barrage of tears and silent sobbing overtakes her.

"Hey………" comes a weak voice from next to her.

Hinata instantly lifts her head to see her blonde headed boyfriend with his eyes partially open and with that usual confident smile on his face. "Naruto!!" Hinata gasps.

"You should know me by now! It'd take more than that to take me out!" he continues and tries to sit up.

The sound of Rock Lee entering the room catches their attention and turn to see the bushy browed ninja stare in awe at the site of Naruto awake.

"Hey, Bushy-brow! What's up?" Naruto asks, giving him a smile.

"Naruto! I don't believe it! Sakura said you might be out for at least twenty-four hours!" Lee replies.

Naruto chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Aw, you know me. Can't stay down!" Then he glances between the two. "Where's Sakura at anyways?"

"She had to go and tend to an injured ANBU," replies Hinata.

"Oh," Naruto says simply, then sets his gaze upon Hinata. Lee glances between the two and suddenly feels like he's intruding.

"Well, good to see you awake. I will go and let Sakura know," states Lee.

"Sure, Lee. Thanks," replies Naruto without taking his eyes off Hinata. Lee gently bows then lets himself out of the room. The moment Hinata hears the door close, she wraps her arms around his next neck. Naruto looks at her slightly stunned then a warm smile forms on his lips.

"Hey, it's ok, Hinata. I'm fine," he states quietly to her as reassuringly as he can. A muffled sob is all he hears and he rubs her back gently. "By the way, you didn't hold up your end of the bargain!"

Hinata looks up in shock at his statement and leans back to look Naruto in the face. "Wh--what?"

Naruto chuckles and places his index finger on the end of her nose, then replies, "You never told me what that canapé stuff was! You said you would if I tasted it!"

Hinata's look of shock turns to mild bewilderment as a large grin forms on her boyfriend's face. "Naruto, of all the things to focus on," she whispers to herself as he begins to giggle. Then she feels him poke her side and she squeaks. Hinata blushes and wraps her arms around her sides to protect them.

Meanwhile, Sakura leans up from the injured ANBU and wipes her brow. _There, he's stable. Now I can check on Naru—_

Her thoughts are interrupted by him suddenly grasping her forearm. She gasps as he strains to sit up. "No! Lie down!" she manages to say, trying to pry off his vice-like grip on her arm.

"P-please—must---tell---H-Ho—Hokage--- danger---!" he strains to get out.

Sakura freezes at this and her mind locks up. She shakes herself and leans down to him to hear what he has to say. As he mumbles, Sakura's gaze turns from stun to grave.

"I'll tell her. You rest now," she whispers to him. A look of relief forms on his face and he releases Sakura's arm. She stands and turns to leave with a grave look on her face.

A blushing Hinata tries to contain a giggle as Naruto once again pokes her side successfully. Despite having their night being interrupted by Naruto's collapse, she finds that this simple 'tickle war' very fun, even though she seems to be losing. She tries to poke him in the gut, but he grabs her wrist gently and pulls her into a hug. She pauses for a second the sighs happily. Then, the door opens and Sakura pokes her head in and gasps to see Naruto sitting up.

"Naruto! You're awake!" she says, then half-smiles. "Just like all the other times you've been put in here, you always seem to recover very quickly. You'd think I'd stop being surprised by this."

Naruto lets Hinata sit up and shrugs. "Hey, what can I say? That's just me!"

Sakura chuckles softly and replies, "Yeah, I know. I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go see Lady Tsunade. The injured ANBU was carrying some….uh…important information for her. I may be back by later to check up on you." Then, Sakura's demeanor turns serious. "Now, in the meantime, you take it easy. No excessive activity! Hinata, I leave you to make sure he does not get out of hand!"

"Oh, come on, Sakura, you worry too much!" Naruto states.

Sakura and Hinata frown at him. "Naruto, you just heal fast. You're not indestructible!" Sakura replies.

"Yeah, ok. Sure," Naruto says, humoring her.

"Look, I gotta go. Behave for once, please."

Naruto sighs and relents. "Oh, alright. I will."

Sakura smiles and nods, then leaves the room. Hinata gets up and closes the door. As she turns, she sees Naruto reaching over to the nightstand where his dress shirt is folded up and sitting on. She gasps and quickly moves to him and stops him. "What are you doing? Didn't you hear Sakura?"

Naruto looks up at her with a bit of hurt in his face. "Hey, I was just looking for…um, something…."

"Well, what is it? I will get it for you!" Hinata responds, concerned. Then, she sees a bit of nervousness in his gaze.

"Well, actually, I'd really like to get it…"

A look of wonder forms on Hinata's face as she sees him squirm slightly with nervousness. What could this something be?

Meanwhile, Sakura finishes giving her report to Lady Tsunade. Tsunade and Shizune ponder the news, then gets a frown of concern on her face. Sakura swallows nervously as her teacher glances out the window.

"Um, there is one more thing, Lady Tsunade," she says.

Tsunade's gaze turns to her pupil again and replies, "Oh? What is it?"

"Well, apparently around the same time the ANBU was attacked, Naruto…" Tsunade visibly perks up at the mention of his name. "…had an… episode, I guess you'd call it," Sakura finishes.

Tsunade leans toward her, almost impatient to hear what happened to her orange and favorite ninja.

"The Kyuubi temporarily took over and…" Sakura pauses and searches for the right words.

"Well?! What happened?!" Tsunade urges impatiently.

"It simply said to beware of Chimera, that's all. Then, it released its hold on him and he passed out, but there was something in the way it said it. Not the voice itself but the way it said it. It sounded….terrified, almost as if it were afraid if this Chimera," Sakura finishes.

Tsunade stares back at her in awe of this news. Chimera. Why did that sound so familiar? She glances around the room wildly in thought, racking her brain, trying to scrounge any information she may have locked away in some deep, buried memory.

"Does Naruto remember anything of the… possession?" she asks finally.

Sakura blinks, then answers, "Um, I.. I'm not sure. I didn't have time to ask him. Sorry."

"Tsunade, if these two incidents are related in any way…" starts Shizune.

"Yes, I know, Shizune. The village is in danger. Sakura, go back to the hospital and see if Naruto knows anything about this Chimera or if the Kyuubi has given him any info about it. When you are finished there, try to find Kakashi and send him to the research library. He should be back by now from his mission. Shizune, you and I are heading to the research library to try and find anything on Chimera," Tsunade orders, cutting off Shizune.

Sakura nods and leaves the room. "This is bad. If the demon locked inside Naruto has to surface and inform us of a threat…" Tsunade mumbles to herself.

At the hospital, Hinata sits staring in a stunned state, her eyes affixed to a small black velvet box that is held in the palm of Naruto's hand. A wide, nervous grin is spread across his face, bordered by blushing cheeks.

"Oh, Naruto……" she starts but the rest of her words die in her throat.

"You have no idea how long I've saved up for this," Naruto says. "Nor how long I've"

His words are cut off by Sakura suddenly entering the room. Naruto nearly drops the box on the floor and sends an upset glare at her. Hinata's heart falls to her stomach and hangs her head sadly.

"Sakura, what are you doing?! Can we get a moment?" Naruto asks harshly.

Sakura, taken back by his response, hesitates in confusion, then sees him holding the velvet box. She feels her heart drop and a severe pang of guilt hits her in the gut. "I-I—I—," she stammers. Sakura grits her teeth, then hangs her head sorrowfully. "I'm s-sorry, but I have to ask you about, you know, your…. When the Nine-tailed Fox took you over….," she says quietly.

Naruto narrows his eyes and stares hard at her for a moment before replying. "You could have knocked. I'm sure this could have waited another minute!"

Sakura takes a heavy, deep breath. "Actually, it can't…."

Naruto raises an eyebrow in skepticism. "Oh, really?"

Sakura looks at him sorrowfully and replies, "Look, I'm sorry! It's obvious that I…. Interrupted something that was very important between you two, but…. but the village… it's in grave danger. And what you could possibly know, could save it! Believe me, Naruto, I wish I would have been a minute late or even not been in such a hurry to get over here! Hinata, I hope you can forgive me."

Hinata remains silent and Naruto sighs heavily, then hangs his head in his right hand as he sets the box on the stand next to the bed. "Fine. Ask your questions, Sakura," states Naruto blandly.

Sakura finds it hard to speak now that a large lump has formed in her throat. She swallows a couple of times, just to try and loosen it. "Do you remember anything about when the Kyuubi took you over? Did it mention anything about Chimera to you?"

Naruto drops him hand and stares at the sheets of the bed. "No, I don't really remember anything about it. Only the word Chimera. That's it. Why?"

Sakura's gaze falls to the floor. "Well, apparently at the same time you were taken over, a squad of ANBU that was patrolling the border was attacked by a strange band of people that were led by someone called Master Chimera. Three of the team was captured and the last was left for dead, but he was found and brought here for treatment. He told me that only two of them took out the entire squad almost effortlessly. He said they used a strange fighting technique that didn't involve any hand signs or jutsus. It seemed like they could natively control the air and earth. I gave this report to Lady Tsunade before coming here. I-It was her idea, rather, her order that I come and ask you about Chimera," she answers.

Naruto turns to look out the window. Night has fully fallen and millions of stars twinkle in the clear sky. "I've told you what I know, Sakura. Please, can I be alone?" he asks quietly.

Sakura nods and turns, then hears him continue, "Hinata, would you please step out also?" Sakura doesn't turn around, but knows what Hinata's initial reaction is. She hears Hinata gasp, then hears her stand up from the bed. "Yes, Naruto…." Sakura closes her eyes as a tear of regret runs down her cheek. She then exits the room quietly.

Once Naruto sees Sakura leave, he catches Hinata's hand as she turns away. "Hinata…. I'm so sorry… This isn't how I wanted this to be…."

Hinata turns to look at him. His sad blue eyes gaze up at her. She almost breaks down crying then and there, but somehow she manages to control herself. "I love you ,Hinata Hyuuga, and I promise to finish this once this crisis is over," he continues, then uses his free hand to grab the sheets covering him and tosses the off him. Hinata gasps and gives him a confused look.

"The main reason I asked you to step out was….well, I'm not exactly comfortable changing clothes in front of you…. hee, hee!" Naruto stands and grins as he feels is face growing warm from embarrassment. Hinata hesitates to let his word sink in, then grows bright red. All she manages to do is nod in agreement, then presses her lips together tightly in embarrassment. Then, Naruto leans over and gives her a kiss on the lips that slightly startles her, but soon she joins in.

After their lips part from each others, she glances at the box. "Naruto, give it to me now, please….eep!!" Hinata suddenly realizes that she should have worded her request differently as she sees a shocked look form on his face. "The box!!! I meant the box!!! S-sorry!"

Naruto suddenly laughs and Hinata turns a deeper shade of red. "I was planning on giving you your present when we got to the place where we first started going together, but I guess considering what's happened, now would be a good a as any," he says shrugging, then picks up the box and holds it up to her.

Hinata swallows nervously as Naruto slowly opens the box.

The research library. Tsunade slams yet another book hard onto the table in frustration. Shizune, startled by the violent action, jumps and nearly drops the book that she is examining. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" Tsunade says, almost yelling.

"Calm down, Tsunade, I'm sure there is some—," starts Shizune.

"Quiet, Shizune! I won't calm down until I get any info on this Chimera!" interrupts Tsunade. Shizune pauses then nods and returns to her book.

Then, Kakashi Hatake enters the room and Tsunade glances up at him. "I hope I'm not too late…" he says glancing between the Hokage and her aide.

"No, you're just in time for all the fun," quips Tsunade very sarcastically. "I trust Sakura filled you in on our problem?"

Kakashi steps over to the table where the two ladies examine the books and replies, "Yes, she did. I have to tell you up front, Lady Tsunade, I've never heard of Chimera, even from my time in the…." He pauses to glance over at Shizune with his uncovered eye. "…Anyways, I notice that you two have been pouring over the history records of the village. You do realize that Konoha's history is pretty open and plain, right?"

Tsunade frowns and nods. "Of course. Remember, I'm the grand-daughter of the First Hokage. Most of these books are from the time before my Grandfather established Konoha," She lets out a sigh of frustration and balls up a fist. "But there is no mention of Chimera or any hint of anything like Chimera."

"Then maybe this Chimera comes from somewhere other than here. I assume you've sent messenger birds to our neighboring countries to look at their history?" Kakashi asks.

Tsunade nods and sits down at the table, cradling her head in her hands. "Yes, naturally, but I still have this strange feeling I've heard that name before, I just can't think of where and that's driving me crazy!"

Kakashi glances down at an open book lying on the table and picks it up. "Don't bother with that one. It may be one of the oldest in this library, but most of the words are either faded or written in some obscure language that no one speaks or reads anymore. I've tried to make sense of it all, but…." Tsunade says, but trails off, obviously growing weary from frustration.

"Hmm, I recognize some of these pictures in here," Kakashi says flipping a couple of pages. "They look similar to pictures in a children's book I used to have. It was about a war between two mighty nations. During the course of one of the battles, the two nations disturbed a third nation, which in turn destroyed both of the warring nations…. Come think about it, I'm not really sure why something like that ended up as a children's book. I'm sure there was some moral to the story, but I can't think of what it was or what it would be."

Tsunade smirks and says, "Fascination story, Kakashi. Thank you for the story, but we don't have time for kid stories or legends…. Wait. Stories. Legends…." She sits up and glances at Shizune and Kakashi. "I think we may have to expand our search to include stories and legends."

"But wouldn't a story or a legend be in the history?" asks Shizune.

"Not unless it was seen as just that, a story or legend. Things that people tell kids out of fun. But to every tall tale, legend, or fantasy story, there is a grain of truth, no matter how small, it is there," replies Tsunade as she stands. "And I think I remember where I heard the name Chimera!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: blah, blah, legal stuff, blah, blah, don't own Naruto, blah, blah, blah…_

_Author's ramblings: Well, here's the next chapter! Not much to say other than just read away!_

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 4**

Hinata's face beams with joy as she walks down the hall towards the exit. Never in her life has she ever been so happy. She holds her hands to her chest, trying to keep herself from trembling too much from the flood of ecstatic emotion that has all but overwhelmed her.

Up ahead, Sakura re-enters the hospital, now finished with the task of informing Kakashi-sensei that Lady Tsunade wanted to speak with him. She glances up to see an elated Hinata walking towards her. A puzzled look forms on her face, then it is replaced by a small smile of mild congratulations mixed with a bit of envy. At least Hinata has something to smile about and, judging by the obvious high level of happiness in Hinata's face, Naruto gave her something extremely special. Sakura finds herself feeling jealous of Hinata. Not necessarily that Hinata has Naruto as a boyfriend, but… or was it? No, not completely… Sakura shakes her head to clear the sudden thoughts of her and Naruto out of her mind. It wasn't right for her to think that way. Besides, Naruto's affections were directed at Hinata, not her. Still, strangely, she did miss his somewhat idiotic manner of flirting with her. Wait, what?! What was she thinking?! Sakura gives herself a mental slap upside the head as Hinata reaches her.

"Hi, Hinata," Sakura says as the smile remains on her lips.

Hinata jumps slightly, as if she didn't realize she was there. "Oh, Sakura! Hello!" is the reply. "Naruto will be out momentarily, once he finishes changing, of course."

Sakura raises an eyebrow. "Changing? Just where does he think he's going? Neither I nor any of the hospital staff have cleared him for duty yet!"

"And since when has that ever stopped him?" comes a voice from behind the girls. "He's been hanging around Lee way too much and some of Lee's habits have rubbed off on him. Like leaving the hospital before he's ready."

Sakura and Hinata turn to see Shikamaru and Temari walking up to them. "I don't understand why he'd want to. It's just too troublesome for me to get up outta bed, especially when I'm sick or injured," finishes Shikamaru, frowning.

Temari rolls her eyes and punches his arm. "You big, slacker idiot! You probably could learn something from either one of those two!" she says.

Shikamaru gives her a disbelieving look. "You're joking, right?" Temari's expression remains neutral, making Shikamaru uneasy.

Sakura chuckles to herself and widens her smile. "So, what brings you two here?" she asks.

Shikamaru, secretly thankful that Sakura broke the uneasiness, turns to her. "We heard about Naruto's little 'episode' at the diner. On the way here, we ran into Lady Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi. They appeared to be heading to the Hokage's office. They told us to give you and Naruto a message when we got here," he replies, shoving his hands into his pockets, much to the disproval of Temari, who almost instantly yanks one out and squeezes it. "Ow! What the…?! Crazy woman! What're you doing?!" he exclaims.

"Just hold my hand and don't ask questions!" she replies, causing Hinata and Sakura to feel uncomfortable. "You will at least do that tonight!" Temari continues, which causes Shikamaru to get wide-eyed and turn a bright red.

"I told you it wasn't MY fault! I didn't know there were other people there!" he exclaims in his defense.

Temari glares at him. "You could have found us a place to go to! Somewhere where there wasn't anybody around! But no…. instead, you were all lazy and just decided to try and cancel everything! Well, not this time, buster!"

Sakura and Hinata exchange uneasy glances and start to back away from the quarrelling couple, but Sakura suddenly runs into someone.

"Whoa! Hey, easy, Sakura! What are ya trying to do, send me back into that hospital room?"

Sakura gasps and whirls around to see Naruto smiling at her. "Naruto…!" she starts, but her next word suddenly and strangely hangs in her throat.

He chuckles and steps over to Hinata, then wraps an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "Ah, just kidding!" he says and turns to Temari and Shikamaru. "You should be used to Shikamaru trying to get out of stuff! It's his nature to slack off!" jokes Naruto.

"Shut up, Naruto, you're not helping matters much!" pipes up Shikamaru. Temari snorts and doesn't say another word.

Naruto gives them a wide smile and doesn't say another word. Sakura blinks as she finds herself staring at him. "Anyways, you said Lady Tsunade had a message for us?" she asks before the scene gets awkward again.

"Yeah, she's wanting all of us to meet her in her office. I've already sent Lee ahead, since he's kinda part of all this," replies Shikamaru.

Naruto's smile fades and he gets a serious look on his face that Hinata's seen many times before. She knew he was ready to get down to business. No more goofing off, no more jokes. Just him focusing on the task at hand. "Something tells me I'm gonna hafta go and change into my 'work' clothes," Naruto states and Hinata sees that special gleam in his eye. The same one he gets before a mission. The one of determination that she's come to love and follow after herself.

"As do I," Hinata states in agreement with her boyfriend. Naruto gives her a sidelong smile and hugs her with the arm that is around her.

"Just give us a couple of minutes to change and we'll meet you guys at Granny Tsunade's office, Shikamaru," Naruto continues.

Shikamaru frowns and sighs audibly. "Whatever. Just don't take too long. You know how she hates to wait."

Sakura smirks and says, "Well, I wouldn't worry about that. When it comes to Naruto, Lady Tsunade has been known to be a bit more… lenient than with anyone else. Not sure why, though. Makes me wonder what you did to earn that. Not to mention that necklace."

Naruto blinks at Sakura and clutches the necklace that hangs under his dress shirt. "I thought I told you. I won it in a bet I had with her!" he replies innocently.

"No you haven't. Just what kind of bet was it?" Sakura inquires leaning her face closer to his.

"Does it really matter right now? We have a job to do here!" pipes up Shikamaru, mildly irritated.

"Oh, sorry, Shikamaru. Hinata and I'll be going now!" responds Naruto, quickly refocusing his attention. He turns to Hinata and says sweetly to her, "I'll meet you there, Hon!"

"Don't be late, Naruto," she replies.

"Heh, the only person in danger of being late is Kakashi!" he states, chuckling. Then, the two lean together into a kiss that causes Sakura to be a bit uncomfortable about being present. It was still strange, even after a year together, seeing Naruto kissing someone. Especially Hinata. She glances and sees that Temari isn't bothered by them kissing in front of them, but then sees Shikamaru turn away from Temari when she gives him an almost demanding glance, obviously wanting him to give her a kiss.

The couple part from their kiss and turn toward the door. Sakura watches them leave and sighs to herself. Once they leave the building, Temari, still upset with Shikamaru, turns to him and says, "At least, when his date is ruined, Naruto still is cordial enough to TRY and make it better for Hinata!" Shikamaru just grunts and blushes. Then Temari turns to Sakura and says, "You might want to get out of that evening gown too."

Sakura glances down at herself and nods. In all the excitement, she'd forgotten that she wasn't in her ninja outfit. "Yeah, good idea," she states quietly.

"Look, we're heading to the Lady Tsunade's office. Meetcha there," Shikamaru states before the two head out the door.

Sakura is left standing in the empty hallway of the hospital, unsure of what to feel. She still feels bad about trying to root her way into Naruto and Hinata's evening just to get out of a dinner date with Rock Lee, then interrupting Naruto when he was obviously trying to tell Hinata something special earlier in his hospital room, and now these strange feelings she had rise up in her about Naruto. Then there's this Chimera out there somewhere, with who knows what motive driving him. Also, seeing Naruto and Hinata kissing… again. What's happening to her? Before, she'd never be so… confused about what to feel. It's almost like… when Sasuke told her he was leaving the village that night… But this time, it's Naruto….

Wait… what?! Snap out of it, Sakura! This is completely different than when Sasuke betrayed the Leaf Village and left to go to Orochimaru. Naruto isn't leaving the village! He is staying… just with Hinata Hyuuga. A wave of loneliness washes over her, then she shakes her head, trying to refocus her energy. There is a job to do. No time to feel lonely or jealous of….WHAT?! Sakura's inner self slams a fist onto the top of her head. _Get a grip!!! Chimera is out there! Even the Nine-tailed Fox inside Naruto said to beware!_

Meanwhile, outside Konoha, Chimera drops an ANBU mask on the ground and grunts. Water eyes his master in concern as he notices that the meal did not satisfy Chimera. "Master? Do you wish for me to find you another to feed on?"

Chimera moves his eyes to look at him side-long. "No. It would not be enough to satisfy my hunger! I can no longer get any sustenance from these pathetic mortals. I must feed on something….more!" He growls and clutches his stomach. "We… may have to accelerate our plans… before my hunger becomes…. uncontrollable."

His statement draws a look of concern on the faces of his four followers. "My Lord, you may feed on me if it would help…"

"You fool! You know I require your power to protect me until I am fully restored to my former strength! If I did, I would waste even more power and energy to replace you! Now, be silent! I must meditate in order to fully absorb what little strength I can from those… mortals. Do not disturb me unless it is extremely important!" barks Chimera and turns away from the group.

Naruto finishes tying his headband and smiles at himself in the mirror. He picks up his ninja tool bag and affixes it to his uniform. Then he glances up at a picture of him and Hinata stuck to the upper right part of the mirror and smiles as turns and exits his room.

Meanwhile, Hinata smoothes down her gray and light-purple over shirt, picks up the ring she got from Naruto, and slides it gently onto her left ring finger. She admires it for a second then glances at herself in her mirror. She notices a spot of dirt on her ninja headband, which she still wears around her neck, and wipes it clean before heading out the door.

Naruto runs down the street towards the village palace, then notices someone coming towards him from the right. He glances over and sees Hinata join him. "Hey, Hinata!" he says and takes her hand. She blushes and nods as the two run together the rest of the way.

Tsunade sits at her desk with a worried look on her face as Naruto and Hinata enter the room. Naruto glances quickly around the room to see that not only is Shikamaru, Temari, Bushy-Brow, and Kakashi-sensei there, but also Bushy-Brow's nutty sensei, Miato Guy and Neji Hyuuga, Lee's fellow teammate. Then he notices that Sakura hasn't shown up yet. He feels Hinata squeeze his hand nervously and turns to her, giving her a reassuring smile. She relaxes a bit and focuses on the Fifth's worried look.

"Ah, Naruto, Hinata. Good to see you two," states Kakashi warmly. Tsunade glances at him and raises an eyebrow, slightly irritated as his apparent casual attitude.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Good to see you're here on time! Even got here before me!" pipes up Naruto cheerfully. Hinata blushes at this, embarrassed slightly at Naruto's joking.

Kakashi sighs and shakes his head slightly, choosing not to respond to Naruto's obvious jibe at his punctuality, or lack thereof.

"Hey, where's Sakura? I thought she'd be here by now," Naruto asks.

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late," comes her voice from behind them. Naruto and Hinata move to one side to let her in the room. She then takes a spot, standing next to Naruto.

"Now that everyone is here, we can get down to business," states Tsunade, sitting up to her desk. "As most of you know, one of our squads of ABNU, who were patrolling the outer border, encountered and were defeated by a group of people using techniques that were not normal jutsu. Only one of the squad survived the attack and informed us of the situation. They were headed by someone called Chimera. Since I was informed of this, I've been trying to figure out who this Chimera might be, since he is not listed in any Bingo Book nor heard of in any other list or even rumored about. Also, at the same time that the ABNU were attacked by two of the members of this strange five-person team, Naruto had a rather… violent attack of his own. Well, it was a possession, rather than an attack, by the Kyuubi inside him. According to Sakura and Rock Lee, who were present, along with Hinata, the Kyuubi told them to beware of this Chimera. What's more, Sakura told me that the Kyuubi also sounded terrified of this Chimera, which led me to wonder exactly how powerful this Chimera could be."

"The Kyuubi? Afraid?" states Neji, in mild awe, turning to look at Naruto. "I've seen first hand how much power Naruto can have when he taps into the Kyuubi's power. Granted, it was only a little bit of that power, and I've heard stories of him tapping into much more power than anyone has seen, but for there to be someone, or something, that would strike fear into the Kyuubi, it's almost unfathomable!"

"Believe me, Neji, it is real. Shizune and myself have scoured the village library searching for any hint of who or what Chimera could be, but came up empty. Until Kakashi said something that reminded me of something, something that I had read several years ago. It was when I was going around the country, after I left the village and before Jiraiya found me to ask me to be the Fifth Hokage," Tsunade says, then glances at Shizune before continuing. "You may remember this, Shizune, but there was on trip that we took overseas. We ended up in this remote city. I think it was called Alex-ander-rya Town, or something of that nature. Anyways, this place was way off in the middle of nowhere, but people had told me that it had some of the greatest gambling houses around!"

Tsunade pauses and smiles to herself, causing Shizune to frown in disproval and the rest to suddenly get an awkward feeling. She coughs and then resumes, "Well, to make a long story short, this city had a massive library in it. The townsfolk called it the 'Library of the World' and rightfully so. This place was so huge, you could easily fit a quarter of this village inside it! Well, one day I found myself rummaging through the oldest section of the library. The Section Librarian told me that it contained some of the oldest written records in the history of the world, even some that dated back before the first ever formalized nation on the planet! Naturally, I found that hard to believe, but when I started digging around, I found a book that did just that! This book predated almost every book in the entire library."

Tsunade shoves herself away from her desk and lifts a book out of her lap and sits it on the desk. She opens it and continues, "This book was so intriguing that I made several notes and sketches from it. I'm not entirely sure what the name of the book was, as it was so old and the text had severely faded, but what I could make out was 'The Great something- Demon something- War.' I presume to guess that it was a record of a great war that involved all the known demons."

She motions for the group to could closer to look at her notebook. As they crowd around, Tsunade continues speaking, "First, I thought it was a war between humans and demons, but as I discovered early on, it wasn't an account of a human-demon war. Instead, it was about a demon civil war."

Her sentence causes the room to grow eerily silent as the group tries to soak in this new information. "A demon civil war? Whoa, that's kinda… bizarre," states Shikamaru.

"Well, that's not exactly the word I'd choose to describe it. More like… scary!" chimes in Lee.

"What all exactly did this book describe?" asks Kakashi, taking Tsunade's notebook and turning it around so that it is right-side up to him and the rest of the group.

"The first few entries mainly listed the Demon Generals of either side. And here's the kicker. Guess who is listed as the Head General of the rebel demons?" Tsunade replies. Kakashi skims her notes and his uncovered eye widens.

"Chimera….," he whispers.

"But that doesn't mean that this guy is the same one! Anybody could have read the same information in that book and decided to just use the name," states Guy.

"Let me finish, Guy," states Tsunade. "Take a look at whose name is an upper-rank general on the opposing side."

Naruto leans in and scans the page, then he gets wide-eyed. "No…..way…..," is his only response. Sakura and Hinata gasp at the sight of the name.

Neji narrows his eyes at the name on the page. "This has to be more than coincidence now," he states plainly.

"The Kyuubi… it…it was on the other side of the war….," states Naruto, still in shock from the revelation.

Tsunade glances at him and nods. "Yes, apparently so. But that's not all. The book was huge, jam-packed with information. It also listed the abilities of the Demon Generals and a rundown of the powers of each army on both sides. And apparently, Chimera had only one original power."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'one original power'?" asks Kakashi, looking at Tsunade.

"The book was so dense with info that I couldn't get notes on everything, and I didn't have much time left to stay in that city, though, now I wish I had the time and made better notes. According to the book, Chimera had the ability to eat other demons and thus absorb their strength and abilities and add them to his own. The book cites that this is the root of what started the war in the first place. Apparently, Chimera ate several high-powered and high-ranked demons, gaining their power and strength. He also amassed an army of mainly lower ranked to not ranked at all demons and tried to take over, well, everything," replies Tsunade.

Temari reaches for the book. "Excuse me, please, but I have to see the list of what demon was on which side," she says with a bit of concern in her voice.

Shikamaru glances at her and asks softly, "You're wondering about the Shukaku, aren't you?"

She nods and scans the page. "Well, Gaara hasn't had the Shukaku in him for a while now. The Akatsuki made sure of that," he continues. "You shouldn't have to worry about your brother."

"I know, and I'm not. But I'd like to know…" Temari replies.

"He was on the same side as Kyuubi. In fact, at the end of the book, it stated that there were only nine demons who survived the war," says Tsunade. Temari glances up at her and feels a small wave of relief wash over her.

"Well, apparently, whoever did the head count of the remaining demons missed one!" states Naruto, crossing his arms.

Tsunade looks up at him. "Not….entirely. The book made mention to a special sealing jutsu that was developed to seal Chimera away for good," she replies. "They didn't count Chimera as a survivor because he was sealed away."

"If that is the case, then someone somehow managed to undo the seal, but for what purpose? Who would want such a monster set free?" asks Neji.

"The Akatsuki, for starters," replies Naruto, with a bit of distain in his voice.

"That may be true, but who's to say they even knew about Chimera?" asks Sakura. "According to the information we have on the Akatsuki, they are after the, well formerly nine demons for themselves."

"Sakura's right. If the Akatsuki had known about Chimera, they would have already went after it, probably the first thing once forming their little group, but none of the Akatsuki members has ever displayed any powers described by this book," says Shikamaru.

"Not to mention they consider the Kyuubi the grand prize of their little demon hunt!" states a voice from behind the group. All turn to see Jiraiya the Toad Sage standing in the door. "And let's not forget who wants the honor of having the Nine-tailed Fox for himself. I'm sure that if the Akatsuki knew of a more powerful demon than any of the others, they would have tracked it down, as Shikamaru stated," he continues.

Naruto raises an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were in town, Pervy Sage."

"Heh, can't let you guys have all the fun!" Jiraiya replies chuckling.

"Yeah, whatever. You probably got kicked out of every town because of your 'research'!" Naruto says, disbelievingly.

Jiraiya returns with a strained smile and grunts, then his face turns serious. "Jokes aside, this is serious. If the Chimera of legend has somehow gotten free of his jail cell, as it were, then we need to find that book and get that jutsu so we can reseal him away. Not to be a pessimist, but the Leaf Village barely survived the last demon that showed up here, unrestrained and unsealed in a person , and I don't think it can withstand another. Especially if this one is more powerful than any other demon and was the leader of an army of demons. Who knows how powerful he is."

"What's worse is that he hasn't even attacked yet! He's only sent his minions out. And on top of that, only two of them!" states Sakura.

"Which brings up a question, who are these guys anyways? Who in their right mind would want to work for a demon?" asks Naruto.

"Well, from what the surviving ANBU could tell, they might have been forced mentally to cooperate. He did note that all though they seemed to be in complete control of themselves, it seemed as though they were being controlled or possessed by someone of something," replies Sakura.

"Well, whoever they are, the entire lot of them is dangerous. I agree with Master Jiraiya, we need to get this book and get the sealing jutsu for Chimera," states Neji.

Tsunade sighs and shifts uncomfortably. Kakashi and Guy notice this and turn to look at her questionably. "What is it, Tsunade?" asks Kakashi.

"There's just one problem….." she starts. "The book…. The book doesn't have the jutsu in it…."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Don't own Naruto…_

**_Author's ramblings: _**_Whoa…. It has been a REALLY long time since I've added ANYTHING to ANY of my stories…. I'm just glad I did get something done… Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter up sooner than this one… Oh, and if any of you peoples out there notice any gramatical errors, feel free to inform me. I didn't have much time to proofread..._

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 5**

An ANBU operative nods then disappears after delivering his message. Hiashi Hyuuga frowns as he glances at the note in his hand. The distinct seal of the Hokage's office is displayed prominently on the cover and causes him to wonder what could be so important. Hiashi opens the note and begins reading it, but pauses as he notices that someone has just entered the room.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asks without looking up.

There is short pause then the reply comes, "Yes, Father, but I could ask you the same."

The head of the Main Branch of the Hyuuga family raises an eyebrow and turns to look at his youngest daughter, Hanabi. "I am not an elderly, impotent man that I should have a 'bedtime', Hanabi. Nor are you old enough to speak to me as if I were!" A soft chuckle fills his ears, then he sees her step towards him. "Why can't you be more like your sister?"

Hanabi smiles at her father and giggles. "If I did that, you'd have trouble telling us apart!"

Hiashi gives her a perplexed look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hanabi laughs then replies, "Never mind, Father! Don't worry about that."

He grunts and frowns deeper. "I'm beginning to think it was a bad idea to let you got to the Ninja Academy. You've changed so much. You're not the quiet little girl you used to be. You've become more like that Naruto Uzumaki that your sister is with all the time. Please tell me you've moved out of his class…"

Hanabi grows wide-eyed and blushes slightly. "Oh! Uh, not yet, Father! I, uh, still have one more, um, project to do before I move on. Besides, don't you want me to keep an eye on him for you? You know, just to keep my sister safe?"

Hiashi eyes his daughter disbelievingly and replies, "I'd rather you finish up your studies in his class and move on to something better. Hinata can take care of herself and if she can't, then your cousin Neji will be there to pick up the slack."

Hanabi gives him a strained smile as she nods obediently. "Yes, Father, I understand!" she responds then notices the note in his hand. "Hey, isn't that the seal of the Hokage's office on that note?" she asks, looking at the note inquisitively.

Hiashi glances at the note and frowns slightly. "Yes, but it is not of your concern. Now, return to bed, Hanabi," he replies and stuffs the note into his robe pocket. She pauses then nods in obedience.

"Yes, Father. I am going to get a drink of water before I do," she says, then turns to leave the room.

Hiashi watches as his youngest daughter exits the room and when she is gone, he pulls the note back out of his pocket. _What could be so urgent that the Hokage would summon me at this hour?_ he ponders to himself.

The Hokage's office. Naruto's jaw is wide open, astonished. "Wh—what did you say?!" he exclaims, not believing his ears.

Tsunade glances up at him. "You heard me, Naruto. I know you're thick-headed, but not deaf," she states blandly.

Naruto grunts at the remark and before he can retort, Kakashi wisely cuts him off. "If the jutsu isn't in that book, then where is it?" he asks.

Tsunade sighs and her face droops slightly. "The book I saw at the library was actually book one of two. The jutsu is in the second book," she answers, then pauses. "At least, I think so…."

"What do you mean, you think so?" asks Shikamaru, raising an eyebrow in concern.

"I…. didn't have the time to see if the second book was at the library," is the solemn reply. "I don't even know if anyone has even found it."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," Naruto mumbles sarcastically. "So now what do we do? We can't just stand around and hope that the second book falls out of the sky into our laps!" he says frowning.

Tsunade looks over at him then narrows her eyes. "I'm sending a small squad to go back to the library to see if the book is at the library. Plus I'm going to send a few ANBU to check the remains of Orochimaru's hidden laboratory to see if he came across anything pertaining to the sealing jutsu."

"No offense, but all this will take way too long, especially since you're wanting to send a squad to this library that's in the middle of nowhere," states Shikamaru.

"He's right. We have no idea when Chimera and his followers will strike. It could be any time. We can't really afford to have our resources stretched out like that," agrees Guy.

Tsunade hangs her head and presses her lips together. "Actually, there is one way to insure that the village will have the necessary amount of time, but it also…." She stops mid-sentence and balls up her fists.

"Wait, you don't mean…" Neji says after catching where Tsunade is going then turns to look at Naruto.

Naruto blinks at this, still not knowing what is implied. "What?" he asks, innocently.

Hinata finally understands and turns her face away from an inquisitive glance by her boyfriend to hide the tears that suddenly begins to well up.

"No. That's not a solution! It could very easily backfire! Then we'd be in more danger than we are right now!" snaps Jiraiya.

Tsunade snaps her head up to look at him hard. "What choice do we have, Jiraiya? I don't have the book here! I don't know the sealing jutsu! I certainly can't go myself and get it! Even if I did, Chimera, if it is the Chimera that is in the first book, would still be here! And Naruto would STILL be in danger! You and I both know that the only reason Chimera is here, is because of Naruto!"

The room grows eerily quiet with everyone trying their best not to look at the two Sanin directly. Naruto feels his heart drop into his stomach as he finally begins to understand. Sakura finds herself staring at her teammate with the desire to take him as far as she can from here. Hinata bites her lower lip to keep herself from making some sort of outburst. Kakashi turns to look at Naruto, then notices a glint of metal on Hinata's left hand. A sudden pang of sorrow hits him for Naruto. Temari swallows as Shikamaru manages to exhale heavily and close his eyes. Guy and Lee stare in stunned awe at the floor as Neji shifts his gaze from Naruto to his cousin. He too notices the ring on her left hand and twitches in a mix of shock and mildly disapproving, but the feeling quick subsides as he realizes if Jiraiya is right and this backfires, Hinata would be devastated. His feelings, oddly to him, turn to sorrow for her.

"How do you think I feel? I hate this, Jiraiya! But frankly, I don't see any other way! If you have a better idea, then by all means, let's hear it! I'm open to anything!" Tsunade says, almost shouting at the Toad Sage. Then, she feels a tear suddenly run down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away before anyone else has a change to notice it.

"It's ok, Granny Tsunade….."

Everyone in the room freezes and perks up suddenly at the sound of Naruto's voice. Hinata whirls her head around to see Naruto with his head hung slightly and fists clenched.

"I'll go and get the book…. And lead Chimera away from the village."

Everyone by now is staring at him, shocked.

"After all, that's what you guys are talking about, isn't it?"

"Naruto….." whispers Sakura.

Naruto looks up at Tsunade and she sees a determined look in his eye, the same one he had when he faced Kabuto that first time, when he and Jiraiya came to get her to be Hokage. The same one he had when he kept asking to go after Sasuke.

"I'll go and get that book! Believe it!!" Naruto exclaims and a smile forms on his face. "And no demon eating monster is going to stop me!"

The room grows quiet again as Tsunade absorbs what she's just heard. "And why should you go and do it alone? I will fight beside you, Naruto!" pipes up Lee, startling Tsunade. She turns her head to see Lee holding a thumbs up towards Naruto.

Naruto turns and smiles bigger at Lee. "Thanks, Bushy-Brow!" he says and returns the thumbs up. Then Naruto turns to Tsunade and says, "If this is going to be an official mission…"

"It is, Naruto. It's going to be classified as a S-Rank mission and, I can't believe I'm saying this, you are going to be the leader. I approve of Rock Lee going with you…" Tsunade starts, but Naruto cuts her off and turns to Hinata.

"I'd also like you to come with me too, Hinata! Your Byakugan will come in handy!" Naruto says with a big smile on his face. Hinata's face brightens at this and starts to reply, but the Hokage's voice cuts her off.

"No, she will have to remain here to help create a diversion as you leave to retrieve the second book. Sorry, but your…." Tsunade pauses as she finally notices the ring on Hinata's left hand. "What the…? When did…. Never mind. Hinata will have to stay."

Naruto turns to Tsunade and he and Hinata both get a disappointed look on their faces. "Oh, ok, what about Neji?" he asks as Neji raises an eyebrow at the mention of his name.

"Sorry, not Neji either. He will have to remain here as well."

"Aw, man. I'd really like to have a Byakugan user to go with me. It'd speed up the process of finding the book plus also help with any enemies that should attack us!" Naruto exclaims.

"Sorry, but no, and that's final!" states Tsunade.

Naruto pauses for a second, then a crazy idea pops up in his head. "What about Hanabi, Hinata's little sister? We can take her along to search for the book only. Lee and I'll keep her safe in case anyone attacks!"

Hinata gasps at this and her jaw drops. Neji gets a stunned look on his face. "Hanabi?! Naruto, you can't take my sister! She's not graduated from the ninja academy yet!" Hinata exclaims in protest.

"Well, it's either her or your father and to be honest…" Naruto starts, then shivers nervously. "I'm not quite ready for another meeting with him just yet…"

Hinata flinches at this and gives him a pleading look. Tsunade gives him a dubious look and then glances at Neji who is shaking his head no. "C'mon, I need someone!" asks Naruto again.

"No, not at this moment. She's not ready for this type of mission, Naruto," says Tsunade finally. Hinata feels a wave of relief wash over her.

"Ok, fine. I'll come back to that. I'll need a medical ninja. Sakura's perfect for the job!" Naruto states confidently, which causes Sakura to blush slightly.

"No, Naruto. All the medical ninja and the medical staff will have to remain here to tend to the….inevitable casualties the village will have," states Tsunade, trying to keep her composure steady despite the looks of disappointment from him and Sakura. Secretly, it tore her up inside having to tell him no, but the safety of the village came first.

Naruto frowns then asks, "What about Ino? She's studying to be a medical ninja too, right?"

Tsunade cringes and replies, "Naruto, what did I just say?! All the medical ninja has to stay here to protect the village!"

"Oh, oops…," he answers apologetically.

"Naruto, I'll have to get it approved with my brother, though I don't think he'll mind, but I'm sure the Sand village could spare a medical ninja for this mission," Temari says.

Naruto's face brightens at this and gives her a big smile. "Thanks, Temari! That'd be great!"

Temari returns his smile and then turns to the Hokage. "Also, I will ask him to approve of sending the Leaf Village reinforcements to help with Chimera, Lady Hokage," she says.

Tsunade smiles and nods. "Thank you, Temari. That would be greatly appreciated," she says thankfully then turns to Naruto. "That is two more, three total for your squad. Who will be your fourth? Remember, all the Jounin and almost all of the Chuunin will have to remain here."

Naruto frowns at the very limited choices. "Uh, what about Kiba and Akamaru? With those super sensitive noses…"

He is cut off by Tsunade shaking her head no.

"Ok, Shino, then. Those bug things of his…"

Again, no.

"Oh, come on! Who's left? Tenten? Chouji?"

"No, they have to stay as well!" is the reply.

"Geez, I thought you said ALMOST every Chuunin…."

Tsunade frowns at him. "I did and there's more Chuunin in the village than those you just named!"

"Ugh, fine. What about Sai? I'd even let him tag along…." Naruto says.

Tsunade raises an eyebrow at this and hesitates for a second before responding. "Sorry, not even him. Despite being part of Root, his is still ANBU and all the ABNU, even Danzou's Root, will have to remain here to defend the village."

Naruto gives her a mild exasperated look and shakes his head. After a short pause, his mind comes up with the only name he can think of. "Hanabi! I can't think of anyone else! She's the top of my class, she'll be graduating the academy tomorrow, and becoming a Genin. And if I remember right, my first real mission as a Genin was an A-rank mission! So, I think she could benefit from that kind of experience."

Hinata's jaw drops again and exclaims, "Naruto! No!"

Tsunade grunts disapprovingly and replies, "And if I remember reading the report on that mission, Team Kakashi was assigned that mission under the pretense of a C-Rank mission. It later turned into an A-Rank mission after it was discovered that Zabuza Momochi was involved!"

Naruto grunts and frowns as he crosses his arms. "Fine, whatever. You got me on a technicality. Look, I don't care. I'll pick up someone else from the Hidden Sand Village if I have to. I'm tired of arguing about it. Right now, I have to get home and pack. According to what you say, this place is pretty far away." And with that, Naruto turns and starts to head out of the room.

Tsunade sighs and grits her teeth. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

He stops and glances back at her. "Like what?" he answers, raising an eyebrow.

"Like how to get to the library, for example?" states Tsunade.

Naruto twitches and feels his face grow warm with embarrassment, but does his best to keep his cool. He had forgotten about that, but decides to play like he didn't. "I planned on picking up the directions right before I left. That way, there'll be less chance for some enemy to intercept it. I'm sure that if Chimera got his hands on the book, he'd destroy it and ruin any chance of us sealing him away," he states coolly.

Tsunade raises an eyebrow, unsure if what he just said was true or if it was something he just came up with, but did agree with his statement about Chimera destroying the book should he discover its location. "Very well. I will have a map drawn up for you by the time you leave," she says and then redirects her gaze from Naruto to the Jounin and to Jiraiya. "I believe a night diversion would be better as it would give Naruto the advantage of leaving under the cover of darkness."

"Makes sense. While Chimera's little gang is distracted by us, Naruto can slip away easier. They'll be less likely to notice him leaving," agrees Shikamaru, despite not being talked to directly.

"At least I hope so. If Chimera is here only because of Naruto, there's a possibility that Chimera has the ability to sense other demons. He may sense the Kyuubi is moving, regardless of whether it's daytime or nighttime," notes Kakashi.

"But isn't part of this whole plan that I lead Chimera away from the village, Kakashi-sensei? If he does detect that I'm leaving, it's not entirely a bad thing. At least…." Naruto pauses and shifts his gaze to Hinata before continuing. "…you all would be safe." There is another pause and Naruto stares into Hinata's hazel gray eyes, seeing them beg him not to go. "Nothing else is as important as the safety of those I love and those I call my friends."

Tsunade's look softens and she lets out a quiet sigh. "Kakashi, Guy, and Jiraiya, I'm putting you three in charge of the diversion. I'm setting it for tomorrow night. Get whoever you need to help. Sakura, I want you to get Ino and a group of your most skilled medical nin to be put on standby. Neji, you and Shikamaru will escort Naruto, Lee, and Temari to the border between the Fire and Wind Countries. From there, Neji and Shikamaru, you two will return here and Temari will take Naruto and Lee to the Sand Village. From there, Naruto, you and your group will proceed directly to the library," she orders. "Everyone else will be under the command of Kakashi and Guy. Everyone understand?"

The group nods affirmatively, then Tsunade takes her notebook and glances at the list of demons in it, primarily at Chimera's name. She closes it and sets the notebook down on the desk. "Good, then let's get to work."

As the group begins to leave, Hinata walks up to her boyfriend and the two catch each other's hand. Naruto gives her hand a reassuring squeeze that alleviates her worry and fear marginally. "Naruto, before you go, I want to talk to you alone," states Tsunade. Naruto shifts his gaze from Hinata to Tsunade and acknowledges her with a nod.

"Go on, Hinata. I'll be out in a minute," he quickly whispers to Hinata then steps towards Tsunade's desk. The two let their hands slide gently apart and Hinata exits the room, glancing back at him just before she closes the door behind her. "What is it, Granny Tsunade?" he asks.

Sakura pauses at the foot of the staircase leading from the Hokage's office for a second. She left the room just before Hinata did and just behind Temari and Shikamaru. She begins running all that has happened tonight over in her mind. It felt like a crazy dream, like everything was just a figment of her imagination, but she knew that wasn't so, that everything she experienced tonight was real. She suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in her stomach. Naruto was leaving…. And may not come back. Sakura didn't understand why she felt so worried about him. It wasn't the first time he's faced death, but for some reason, she felt like this time… this time, he may not come back. Cold shivers run up her spine and she closes her eyes, trying to understand why she felt this way.

Hinata sees Sakura stopped at the foot of the staircase and pauses, wondering if something was the matter. "Sakura? Are you alright?" she asks.

Sakura turns to see her and gives her a small smile. "Yeah, fine. Just trying to absorb all that was said tonight. That's all."

Hinata nods and steps over to her, then sits down on the stairs. "Me too," she says simply.

Sakura sits down next to her and says, "I'm sorry, Hinata. I know this isn't how you wanted your anniversary night to be."

Hinata stares into the diamond in her ring and nods. "It's not your fault, Sakura. You don't have to apologize for anything." She smiles as she begins to get lost in the beautiful twinkle of the diamond. "Despite how everything turned out, Naruto still made this night special for me. That's all that matters."

Sakura glances over her and sees her smile disappear and get replaced by a scared look. "I know that he said he'd come back and that he'll bring that book back with him, but I still am afraid that…" Hinata swallows and wipes a tear away from her eye. "…that I'll lose him!"

Sakura feels her heart tug at her and gazes at the ring on Hinata's finger. "I know exactly how you feel, Hinata," she says and wraps an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "But let's focus on the positive, ok? After all, this is Naruto we're talking about. He's pulled off so many upsets in his career as a ninja, it's mind boggling. If anyone can do it, it's him!"

Hinata's smile returns as she feels Sakura give her a gentle hug. She lifts her head and looks at Sakura. "Thank you, Sakura. I feel much better!" she says gratefully.

Sakura returns her smile and says, "You're welcome! Now, I want to see this ring he gave you. I didn't get to see it clearly before, but now I have the chance!"

Hinata blushes then holds out her left hand to let Sakura see her ring. "Ooh, it's gorgeous, Hinata! Wow! Did he….ask you….?"

Hinata blushes deeper and starts to reply, but the sound of someone coming down the stairs catches the girls attention. They look up the stairs to see Naruto coming towards them. They notice a serious look on his face and Hinata notices a somewhat distant look in his eyes. She stands and turns to face him. "Naruto?" she asks quietly.

He lifts his gaze to meet her eyes and a pained look mixed with determination is on his face. "Hinata…" he whispers. The two meet in a big embrace and Sakura steps back a bit to give them some space. After a minute, the two separate and Hinata still sees the distant look in his eyes.

"Naruto, what is it?" Hinata asks, giving him a concerned look.

He stares back at her silently but his face says that he is hurting deep inside. Then, he reaches around his neck and pulls out the necklace that he received from Tsunade. Sakura gasps silently as he takes it off and holds it in his hand. Hinata looks at the necklace, confused. "Naruto, why…?" she starts, but he places a finger on her lips to stop her.

"I want you to have this while I'm gone," he says and slides the necklace over Hinata's head. He gently pulls her ebony hair from the inside of the necklace and gives her a smile.

"But, why?" Hinata asks again, her eyes pleading for a rational explanation.

"Heh, to guarantee that I'll come back!" he replies, his smile growing bigger.

Hinata gets a confused look again. "If I know that my necklace is around the woman I love, then that makes me doubly determined to come back in one piece. I have two reasons now to hurry up and finish this mission!" Naruto says, cupping his hands around her cheeks. Hinata blinks and a small smile finally forms on her lips. Sakura turns away as she sees the two draw in close for a kiss. A moment later, the two separate and Hinata wraps her arms around his neck.

"So that's a promise you're coming back?" she asks and hears Naruto chuckle.

"Believe it!" he whispers to her. Hinata smiles and tightens her hug around him. "Uh, Hinata, air!" he states as he feels Hinata's arms tighten around his neck.

Hinata gasps and pulls back from him a little. "Sorry, Naruto!" she exclaims apologetically.

Naruto rubs his neck dramatically and Sakura turns her head to look at him, then rolls her eyes. "Oh, please," she says. Hinata's apologetic look disappears and is replaced by a small disproving frown.

"You'll come and see me off tomorrow night, right?" Naruto suddenly asks.

Hinata is caught off guard and is taken aback slightly by his question. "Of course! I wouldn't miss that for the world!" Hinata replies.

"I'll be there too!" spouts Sakura before she realizes they might want that time together alone. She cringes at herself for not catching herself earlier.

"Sure! That'll be great, if you're able to come!" replies Naruto cheerfully. "You know, if Granny Tsunade doesn't have you running about doing medical ninja stuff."

Sakura realizes he is right about that. "Well, I'll try and sneak away if that's the case," she states half-smiling.

"Heh, you've been hangin' around me too long, Sakura. You've picked up one of my old habits!" he says grinning.

"Old habits? It's still one of your current habits!" Sakura replies and crosses her arms.

"Ah, come on, Sakura, it's not that current and I don't do that too often!" he replies in defense.

"Only when there is a ramen special at Ichiraku's," Sakura counters playfully.

"Yeah, well, that's a legitimate excuse!"

"No, it's not! It's a lame excuse! And you know it, Naruto!"

Naruto narrows his eyes at Sakura playfully and replies, "Ah, you're just jealous that I can pull it off so well!"

Sakura grits her teeth and gives him a strained smile. "Yeah, whatever! You're not that good!"

Hinata giggles at the playful argument and leans her head against Naruto's chest. She liked how he could always find something light-hearted to break the tension of a harsh situation. Naruto hears her giggle again and glances down at her. "What's so funny?"

Hinata looks up at him and replies, "You." Naruto raises an eyebrow. "You always find something to laugh about. Even if it's yourself!"

"Um, that is a compliment, right?" he asks.

"Of course, Naruto. I love that about you," she replies. "And you better not change either!" A commanding smile forms on her face that causes him to gives her a nervous look. "Or else!" she continues playfully.

Naruto presses his lips together and grunts thoughtfully. "Well, you sure are proof that it's always the quiet ones that are the most dangerous. They get you to drop your guard and then wham! Blindside you!"

Hinata smiles deviously and states, "Yeah, so don't make me angry or I will poke you to death!" She jabs her finger playfully into his chest.

"Whoa, you just got really, really, scary! Never seen this side of you before…" Naruto says, releasing her from his hug and steps back from her. Sakura lets a chuckle escape her lips as Hinata begins to laugh. Hinata raises her first two fingers on her left hand and points them at Naruto. "Hey, watch where you point those things! They could go off!"

Hinata jabs them playfully towards him as she continues to laugh. Sakura gives up on trying to hold in her laughter and just lets it flow freely. Naruto catches Hinata's left hand as she tries to poke him playfully. She tries to poke him with her right hand but he catches that one as well. "Oh, now what are you going to do, Miss Poke-a-lot-us?" Naruto asks smiling defiantly at her.

"Poke-a-lot-us? That's not even a word!" she manages to get out amongst her laughing.

"It is now!" he replies, chuckling. He slips his fingers between hers and pulls her into him, then puts their hands behind his back. The two meet in a kiss and Sakura calms her laughter down, as not to disturb to couple. The two separate from the kiss and Naruto smiles lovingly at Hinata. "You know, I think I'll call you that from now on. Poke-a-lot-us."

Hinata gets a serious look on her face. "I don't think so! You want this ring back?" she states, raising her left hand up and wiggling her ring finger.

"You'd seriously give me that ring back over something like that? You know I'm kidding, right?"

Her face softens and replies, "Yes, of course I know you are. Apparently, you don't know when I am. There isn't a person… or demon, for that matter, that could get me to give this ring back to you."

Naruto sighs and says, "Like I said, it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for. You're no exception."

She crinkles her nose playfully at him and wraps her left arm around him again. "I love you," she whispers.

Naruto smiles fondly at her and replies, "And I love you, too, Hinata. And I hate to cut this moment short, but I have to get home soon and get some sleep tonight, even if it is only a couple."

Hinata gets a disappointed look on her face. "I know. I wish we would have had more time together," she says, laying her head on his chest.

"Well, at least you two had some sort of an evening at all. Me, well, mine didn't even really get started," Sakura states.

"True. Sorry that didn't turn out great," says Naruto.

"Ah, no big. There's always next time!" Sakura replies with a wave of her hand. "Anyways, I'm heading home. 'Night, guys!"

"Good night, Sakura!" calls the couple after her as she leaves.

Naruto sighs and gives Hinata a final kiss before her slides out of her hug. "Love you!" he says and takes off.

Hinata starts to head home but pauses and looks in the direction Naruto left. She cocks her head to the side slightly and smiles, then looks down at the necklace Naruto put around her neck. The light of the moon glints off the crystal and Hinata sighs while trying to decide what to do. She glances between the direction of her home and that of Naruto's. Then, she makes up her mind and heads off into the night.

Naruto sighs and pulls back the covers on his bed. He glances up at the moon hanging in the night sky that is shining brightly through his window. Then, a soft knock at his door catches his attention. "Now, who could that be?" he whispers to himself in curiosity. He turns and walks to the door and opens it to see Hinata standing there. "Hinata? What are you doing here? Are you ok? Is something wrong?" he asks, concerned.

"Yes, there is something wrong," she replies simply.

"What? What is it?" he asks, getting more apprehensive.

"You forgot to say good bye or good night to me," she responds.

Naruto blinks at her, slightly dumbfounded, but then smiles in relief. "Oh, good. I thought there was some real trouble!"

"There will be if you don't say both of those things to me! Actually…. Only one."

Naruto's look changes back to curiosity. "Um, which one?"

"Good night, but don't do it now. Later," Hinata replies, then swallows nervously. She'd never been in this situation before; much less put herself here. "I… I… want to be with you tonight, Naruto."

Naruto grows wide-eyed. "Hinata…" he starts.

"Please, this may be the last night we have together. And I want to spend it with you…"

Naruto stares back at her, not knowing how to respond to her request.

"Please?" A pleading look forms on her face that lets her fear show through, despite her trying to hide it.

Naruto sighs after a couple of seconds then presses his lips together. "You know if your dad finds out about this…"

"He won't."

"How can you be sure? He is the head of the Hyuuga clan."

"Let me worry about that. May I stay?"

Naruto frowns and then sighs heavily. "Ok, come on in, Hon," he relents, but with reluctance. Hinata smiles and comes into his room. He closes the door and turns to see her gaze out his window, staring up at the moon. She turns and smiles at him.

"You have a great view from here and you can get a great view of the moon when it's nice and clear like tonight," Hinata states, turning to him. Naruto nods and sees a gentle breeze gently blow through her hair. She glances around the room then asks, "Only one bed?"

"Well, yeah, I've only needed one. After all, I was a bachelor up until a year ago!"

She smiles and nods. "That's fine…" Then she steps up to him and wraps her arms around his neck as she plants a kiss on his lips.

Meanwhile, Lord Hyuuga finishes his meeting with Lady Tsunade. "Again, I'm sorry to have disturbed you at this hour, Lord Hyuuga," Tsunade says apologetically.

"It is alright, Lady Hokage. All of my clan's resources are yours to use," Hiashi replies bows respectfully to her.

"One other thing, Lord Hyuuga, unrelated to the situation at hand," Tsunade says.

"Yes?"

"About Hinata and Naruto…"

"Yes, I know. It took me a while but I just cannot deny the change that has taken place in my eldest daughter because of her relationship with him. The boy is not exactly what I had in mind for her originally, but he has been the primary influence in her life."

"Then you approve?", Tsunade asks.

"Approve? Of what?" he asks back curiously.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto._

_Author ramblings: Ok, here's the next chapter…. Finally. I have to be honest. I've been L-to the-azy. No excuses. Anyways, enjoy and review!_

**Return of Chimera**

**Chapter 6**

Water glances over at his master and sees that he is straining a lot harder to contain the almost insatiable hunger inside him. "Master? Is there anything~" Water starts.

"No," is the abrupt answer. Chimera stands from where he'd been sitting and inhales and exhales deeply, trying to soothe the hunger pains. He glances around at each of his underlings and grimaces. "Do I have food this morning?" he asks gruffly.

Water glances nervously at his master and answers, "We- we were only able to catch a few large game animals during the night."

Earth raises a fisted hand and instantly a mound of earth raises out of the ground. He uncoils his hand and the mound splits, letting three unconscious large deer and four mountain lions fall to the ground.

"Of course, I wanted to raid the village nearby, Master, but Water insisted that we all stay close to you," informs Fire haughtily.

Water frowns at Fire and replies, "I was only doing what Master Chimera had asked of us!"

"Yes, true, but now, Master Chimera has a sub-par meal! See where your blind devotion to the letter of the law has left him!" fires back Fire.

"Enough! It would not matter if you brought the entire village to me this morning! The hunger inside can only be quenched by feeding on demon!" exclaims Chimera, quickly growing angry at the bickering. He sniffs the air and continues, now more calmed down, "And it seems the hunger demands satisfying sooner than I anticipated. We may have to accelerate our plans to capture the nearby demon…"

Hinata awakens and slowly opens her eyes, expecting to see her beloved lying next to her, but instead, there is an empty pillow. She lifts her head and lets the sheet slide down off her as she glances around the room. She finally sees a note sitting on the dresser next to the bed and she picks it up to read it.

_Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, but I have some things to take care of before I leave tonight. Hopefully I can get everything done so I can treat you to lunch today. Lookin' forward to seeing you! Love you always, Naruto._

Hinata smiles and folds the note up and sets it gently on the dresser then she slides out of the bed and heads to the bathroom. After showering and getting dressed, she heads out of Naruto's apartment, now dreading the inevitable run-in with her father who is most likely wondering why she didn't return home last night. She sighs and swallows then heads toward her house, trying to figure out the best way to explain about Chimera and the whole situation with her and Naruto to her father.

Elsewhere in the village, Naruto and Rock Lee head towards the Ninja Academy. "I did not think Lady Tsunade would still hold the graduation today due to the threat to the village," states Lee.

"Well, she could be just giving the illusion of normalcy to throw off Chimera and his thugs. Holding the graduation ceremony for all the graduates of the Ninja Academy students is one of those things. Besides, we have a lot of students here that are really excited about becoming Genin and getting put into teams. Heh, I wonder if Neji put in a request to be a Genin instructor/ team leader this year," Naruto replies.

"I do not think he did. Despite being such a splendid ninja as he is, he still has… uh, issues dealing with little children."

"Heh, I bet. He's not exactly the most outgoing guy around!" agrees Naruto.

"Well, maybe with most people, but I have, however, observed him being much more open whenever he is around Tenten. In fact, lately when those two have been alone, he is rumored to be even… pleasant to talk to!" Lee states leaning close to Naruto to whisper the last part to him.

"Whoa, really? Him and Tenten? Really? How'd that happen?" asks Naruto.

"I do not know, but Guy-sensei once caught them carrying on a decent conversation… and it wasn't just one sided either!" replies Lee.

"What Tenten and I talk about is none of either one of yours concern," comes a stern voice from behind them. The pair turn to see a gruff Neji with arms crossed standing behind them. "Neither is the existence of nor a lack of a relationship between us."

Naruto instantly gets an innocent smile on his face. "Oh, of course it isn't! Silly us for even talking about it! Sorry, Neji!" he exclaims, chuckling apologetically. Lee hurriedly nods in agreement, smiling innocently.

Neji grunts and walks past the pair hurriedly, not even glancing at them. "Hoo! Dodged a bullet there!" whispers Naruto in relief. Again, Lee nods in agreement.

Neji stops a few steps away and turns back to the two and asks, "Speaking of which, Naruto, do you by any chance know why Hinata did not return to her house last night?"

Naruto feels the blood drain from his face down to his feet. "I, uh, ah, um, well, you see, uh… she, ah…" he stammers, unable to find an appropriate answer.

"I don't care to know the reason, I just wanted you to not dodge every bullet," Neji replies with a slight smirk. Then, he turns serious. "Just know this: you had better be sure she is very well taken care of. Or you'll have more than just my uncle's wrath to be concerned about! You'll have mine!"

"I've taken care of her for a year, Neji. Why would I stop now? And also, why the sudden interest in Hinata's welfare? From what I understood, you where relieved of the roll of her protector when you became a Jonin," Naruto says curiously.

Neji pauses before answering. "She is still a member of the Hyuuga clan and… family. Also, I do regard her as a… valuable member of our clan and family."

Naruto raises his eyebrows slightly in amazement. "Wow. Does she know you feel that way? It would mean a lot to her if she knew you respected her so."

Neji is taken slightly aback and freezes for a second, then grunts and turns back to walk into the academy without another word. "You know, underneath that cold, hard exterior, he is really a good guy," states Lee.

"Yeah, I know. He'd just rather not show it," responds Naruto.

"Oh, there you are, Naruto!" comes another voice from behind them. They turn to see Iruka Umino walking quickly towards them. "Come on! I have to explain to you what you are going to be doing during the graduation!"

Naruto chuckles at his old sensei's hurriedness. "Relax, Iruka-sensei! The academy students aren't going to graduate before you're ready!" Iruka frowns at him and grunts as Naruto and Lee follow him into a side door to the academy.

Sakura hands Ino a box of medical kits and reaches for another as Ino sets hers on the floor next to the other three. Lady Tsunade had told them to break out the spare kits from the storage rooms in the hospital and bring them to the main ward. Despite being apparently jovial on the outside, Ino did notice that her friendly rival was concerned about something. She had fought internally whether or not to ask Sakura about it and still hasn't made up her mind. Then, she finally works up the courage to ask.

"Sooooo, what's on your mind?"

Sakura pauses for a second then hands her another box of med kits. "Nothing," is the answer, and one that Ino didn't really want to hear.

"Come on, Sakura, I know you too well. Something's bothering you. I can see it, even underneath that varnish of happiness you've slathered over it. Come on, tell me," Ino says, pressing the issue slightly further.

Sakura frowns slightly then turns silently to close the storage room door. She walks past Ino and picks up four of the med kit boxes, leaving Ino with the one that she holds in her hands, and starts back down the hall.

Ino bites her lower lip at herself for pushing the issue. "If it's about last night, I... I…I'm sorry. I really thought things would have turned out better," she calls after Sakura.

Sakura stops and presses her lips together. "Do you even know what happened last night?" she asks without turning around.

Ino gets a slight look of surprise on her face. She'd heard rumors about an ANBU team getting all but wiped out and something about an accident at the restaurant where Naruto and Hinata were eating. She feels her face grow warm; embarrassed that she truly didn't know. "Um, no, not really," she replies quietly.

Sakura sighs softly and turns to her then explains what transpired. Ino felt her heart slowly slide down into her stomach as what Sakura tells her hits home. After Sakura finishes, she turns away from Ino and bites her lower lip. Ino, slightly shell-shocked by the news, blinks, with her mind in disarray and desperately trying to absorb and comprehend all the information she'd been given.

"I… I… I have no idea what to say," she stammers. "Poor Hinata…" she then whispers.

"Now do you understand why we're doing this?" Sakura asks.

Ino presses her lips together as her last words to Naruto run quickly through her mind and wishes she could change them. "Yeah…" is her solemn reply.

"Then let's hurry up and get this done," Sakura says then lowers her head slightly. "I want to say good-bye to him," she continues in a whisper to herself.

Ino nods and then follows Sakura down the hallway silently towards the main ward.

The Ninja Academy, after the graduation. Neji scans the newly christened Genin for his youngest cousin, Hanabi. His serious expression curls into concern as he fails to find her in the crowd. She was present for the duration of the event, but now she has disappeared. Well, for now, anyways. He starts to activate his Byakugan but is distracted by Lee's voice beside him.

"Hey, Neji, is there something wrong? You look concerned," is his teammate's statement.

Neji glances at him then back into the crowd of new Genin. "Hanabi. She was here earlier, now she has apparently run off somewhere. Did you by any chance see her leave?" Neji asks.

Lee raises an eyebrow. "No, I am sorry, Neji, I did not. Strange, I would have thought she would have wanted to stay around to celebrate with her friends. Not to mention, to find out when to be back here to be assigned to a Jonin team," he replies, turning his own eyes to the crowd.

Neji activates his Byakugan and scans the room. "Perhaps. I did notice that she disappeared shortly after Naruto left a moment ago," he states.

"You don't think she followed after him?" asks Lee, now beginning to scan the room himself.

"I don't know. It could have just been coincidence that she disappeared after he left, but I have noticed lately that Hanabi has taken an interest in his and Hinata's relationship. Especially after his last visit to our clan's Main Branch home," Neji replies and then deactivates his Byakugan, frowning in disappointment.

Naruto smiles as the head chef of Ichiraku Ramen's hands him a to-go order of his favorite flavor of ramen. "Good luck, Naruto, and hurry back!" he says with a big smile on his face.

Naruto looks up from his order to him. "Thanks! And I will!"

"We'll keep your seat warm!"

Naruto chuckles and waves good-bye as he exits the restaurant. Once outside, he gently tucks the meal under his arm and heads toward the dock district. After going a few blocks, a voice calls to him.

"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Naruto stops and turns to see Jiraiya leaning against the side of a building smiling. "Hey, Pervy-sage. I'm headed to the docks, that's all," Naruto replies, walking over to him.

"Really? Hmm… I don't recall ever having to take a boat to go to the Sand Village," the Toad Sage states, raising a dubious eyebrow. "C'mon, why are you really going there?"

Naruto eyes his old sensei carefully with a half-smile on his face. "Funny, I don't recall stating that I was going to the docks to catch a boat at all!"

Jiraiya pauses and snickers. "Well, that's true, you didn't. I guess it was merely a conversation starter. After all, this may be the last time we get a chance to talk for a while,"

"Mm," Naruto grunts softly, knowing he was right. "I have to swing by the docks to pick up a few supplies there before I leave tonight."

Jiraiya nods slightly. "'Kay. Just take care of yourself, Naruto," he says, gently patting Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto smiles at him confidently. "Hey, you don't have to worry about that! There's a whole village full of people counting on me to get back safely! Look, I hate to run, but I gotta bunch of stuff to do. I'll catch ya later, ok?"

Jiraiya nods and chuckles, "Sure, kid. See you later." Naruto once again heads off toward the docks, leaving Jiraiya behind. "Yeah, you be sure to come back. I've already lost three former students. I don't want you to be number four," he thinks to himself.

That afternoon, Shikamaru and Temari stand on the porch outside his parent's house. Shikamaru watches the slowly setting sun out of the corner of his left eye as Temari leans against the opposite wall with her arms crossed, looking over at him. "Shikamaru, it's just like another mission," she starts.

"No, it's not," he interrupts gruffly.

She narrows her eyes slightly and frowns. "Look, I understand that he's your friend and all…"

"Do you? Then why are you acting as if you've got a chunk of ice for a heart?" he snaps.

Temari is taken aback by this and feels a stab of pain in her heart as she catches a glimpse of Shikamaru's true feelings behind his eyes. It wasn't just Naruto; it was the entire village, his home. "I do care, Shikamaru. I care about you and oddly enough, the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm… just trying to not fall into a defeatist mentality." She steps towards him and gently places her hands on his sides. "And the only way I can succeed at that is to view this as just another mission. I'm not denying the fact that the situation looks grim, and that's a mild way of putting it, I just choose to focus on… well, almost anything else. Right now, my focus is getting Naruto and Rock Lee to my village safely and as quickly as I can so I can come back here to fight beside you."

Shikamaru finally turns his eyes into hers and finally sees how sincere she is. "You should listen to her, son," comes a voice from the door.

Shikamaru and Temari turn to see who it was. "D-dad?" Shikamaru says.

"Sure, the women in both our lives can be troublesome and a pain in the butt at times, but they are generally right. Heh, far be it for me to admit that openly!" says Shikaku Nara.

"Uh, I think you just did…" Shikamaru says frowning at his dad.

"Tch. Don't worry. Your mother isn't here to hold me to it, but seriously, Shikamaru, if there were only one piece of advise I'd have to share, it'd be this: Try not to focus on saving the world. That's impossible."

"Wha..? That doesn't make sense, dad!" Shikamaru exclaims, confused.

"Let me finish, would you? Instead of focusing on trying to save the world, focus on saving a few, like Temari, your mother, Chouji, Ino, and any other you see fit to list there. Heh, I have to admit, there were times when I was in a mission that looked hopeless and I had to adopt that mentality. I forced myself to focus on finishing the mission, if only for your mother!" Shikaku states, crossing his arms.

Shikamaru's gaze shifts from his father, to Temari, and then to the ground as he mulls over what is dad had just said. "I've never really thought about it that way…" he says finally.

Shikaku smiles and replies, "Good. I'm sure Temari will remind you to keep thinking that way. She seems to have a knack for getting you to do what she wants!"

Shikamaru jerks his head up to object to the statement, but is stopped by seeing a devious grin on Temari's face. "Thanks, Dad, whose side are you on here? I thought you'd look out for your son, your own blood!"

His dad chuckles and replies, "Well, normally, son, yes, I would, but in this case, you've gotta learn this lesson all on your own!" With that, Shikaku disappears back in the house.

"Lesson? What lesson?" Shikamaru asks, confusedly. Then, gets a worried look on his face as he hears Temari begin to giggle deviously. "Oh, man…" he whispers with a bit of dread in his voice.

Elsewhere, Naruto double-checks his ninja pack to make sure he's gotten everything as he walks towards the Hokage's mansion to get the map to the library. As he nears the stairway to the mansion, he spots a figure standing at the foot of the stairs. Naruto arches an eyebrow in curiosity until he recognizes who it was: Lord Hiashi Hyuuga. Naruto feels a knot form in his stomach. He swallows nervously and tries to keep a calm, cool, and collected countenance, though in the back of his mind, he knew that with those Hyuuga eyes, Lord Hyuuga could tell that he was anxious. Naruto adjusts the strap of the large Toad Contract scroll on his back as he nears Hiashi.

Once Naruto gets even with Hiashi, he stops but keeps his eyes set firmly on the stairs before him. Then, the knot in his stomach loosens, despite feeling the piercing gaze of the Elder Hyuuga bearing down on him. The two stand immobile for a long drawn out ten seconds before Naruto starts to say something but Hiashi speaks first. "You had better not break my daughter's heart, boy."

Naruto blinks and narrows his eyes, as he looks side-longed at him. "There's no way I would ever do that," he replies.

"Yes, there is," is the simple counter. Lord Hiashi crosses his arms and crinkles his brow in seriousness.

"Oh? And what would that be?" asks Naruto turning his head to face Lord Hiashi, his nervousness completely gone now that his love for Hinata was being challenged once again by her father.

"You could die."

Naruto is stunned at the reply and grows wide-eyed for a second before getting serious once more. "Well, that's not going to happen until I'm old and grey, not before."

Hiashi narrows his eyes at Naruto's confidence. "See to it that it happens just as you say," he states.

Naruto smiles confidently and replies, "Heh, you're forgetting who you're talking to!"

"Humph, oh yes, the future Hokage," states Hiashi with a small amount of sarcasm. Then a small smile forms on his lips. The two stare back at each other silently in confidence of their own beliefs. "I will talk to you when you complete this… mission to once again save the Leaf Village. There are some things we have to… discuss."

Naruto pauses for a second before simply nodding in acknowledgement then the two turn away from each other. "Oh, and Naruto?" Hiashi says.

Without turning around, Naruto replies, "Yeah?"

"Good luck." And with that, Lord Hiashi walks away without waiting for a reply. It was then that it hit Naruto that he had called him by name and not by "boy" or "child"… or even nuisance. He smiles to himself as he climbs the stairs to the Hokage's office.

A guard on the outer wall of the village stares intently at this sudden new arrival. He draws a kunai and hurls it at the yellow clad figure before him. The yellow-robed man smirks and creates a ball out of the very air and deflects the kunai before launching it at the guard. The guard manages to dodge it as his partner stares in awe at the sight. Then the guard yells at him, snapping him back to reality. "Quick! Sound the alarm! They're here!"

The other guard quickly grabs the flare gun and fires it into the air. Suddenly, a blue blur rushes past him and leaps into the air after the flare. Water attempts to envelope the flare in a puddle but a quick, single hand sign from the guard causes the flare to detonate, creating a massive fireball that instead envelops Water. Several titanium salutes, which are described as aerial flash-bangs, shoot out in multiple directions from the fireball and explode. Then, Water drops out the bottom of the fireball, encased in a protective bubble of water. He frowns in annoyance as Fire blasts the guard who set off the alarm with a fireball of his own.

"Just give up! That flare will alert every ninja in the entire village and they will come running!" states the first guard confidently.

"Let them come. I will devour with ease!" comes a voice from behind him. The guard turns to see Chimera glowering confidently back at him. Then, a crazed hungry look flashes across Chimera's face. "And I will begin with you!"

Then, in a blinding flash, Chimera overtakes the guard and he screams in pain but is silenced almost instantly.


End file.
